


the journey that led us home

by yookihyuks



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: (full fmab references), Alchemy, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, Hate to Love, Kihyun is Dense and Minhyuk is just so Done, M/M, Magic, Mentions of blood/injuries, Road Trips, Shapeshifting, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Wicca, Witchcraft, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-09-28 14:20:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 36,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20427365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yookihyuks/pseuds/yookihyuks
Summary: “We have to go.” Minhyuk insisted, making him frown in annoyance. He wasn’t feeling certainly playful for these type of jokes.“Go where, exactly?” he asked, not amused one bit.“We’re going to make the dragons a visit, obviously.” He said, solemnly.Kihyun gaped at him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!! I'm back with (yet another) long story! I will publish it in two parts, even tho the first one is considerably shorter than the second, but I felt it needed to be chaptered like this :3 ❤️
> 
> Please important!!!!! Keep in mind that even though I definitely did a lot of research when it comes to wicca/witchcraft, everything is not 100% accurate because i used my own ideas/thoughts so it's all mixed and solely used for the purpose of this fanfic! >-< 
> 
> dedicated to my kihyuk's [muse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/norikae/pseuds/norikae) ❤️

The scent of eucalyptus oil filled Kihyun like the breeze on a cold spring morning, his lungs and respiratory tract feeling immediately lighter, as if he could take double the oxygen with each intake.

Through the thin layer of smoke that floated across the room where he worked at, he focused both hands above the navel of the patient that lay on the bed, the yellow aura that concentrated under his palms was bright enough to blind him, but he kept his attention focused on the solar plexus, trying to find where the stomach ache resided. The milky dandelion juice he had prepared along with his aquamarine stone were placed right next to the table, the cup empty and the stone shining just as bright as the yellow chakra.

“How does it feel?” he asked, sweat starting to drip down his forehead. He had found the troubled area right in the bladder of his patient and he was trying his best to expel it out of his body, with the help of the diuretics he had previously used.

“Good.” His patient replied, pearls of sweat covering his white skin. He was cold under Kihyun’s spells. “I feel the need to pee again. And less bloated.”

“You need to drink the milk juice a few times a day for a week. Use a handful of dandelion flower petals in boiling water, steep 10 minutes and then strain. I will give you a hand-written note so you don’t forget.” Clasping his hands, the bright yellow disappeared off the bat, without a single trace left.

His fingers were shaking when he reached out for the brush to write the instructions, but the eucalyptus helped him relax with each breath. There were times were finding his patients’ aches were harder than usual and they took a huge toll of him that left him completely drained of energy, but everytime he succeeded the relief that filled every pore was enough to make up for it.

“Yes, Dr. Yoo.” Slowly, his patient pulled his body forward until he was sitting on the edge of the stretcher, looking for his clothes to cover his naked body. “Thank you so much, as usual, you’re the best.”

Kihyun’s cheeks turned a faint shade of dust pink behind the smoke whenever someone complimented him, even when that happened more often than not because it was his job as the physician witch of the town where they lived at.

He wasn’t the only one with powers among the common citizens: there were wizards that used their magic for crafting and were the best merchants in miles; there were also shapeshifters that worked at the circus where they showed their incredible abilities; even though Kihyun could work with chakras and see their auras, he only had the capacity when it came to healing, but there were aura readers and interpreters in every corner that also read the tarot cards for very reasonable prices, and some other minor witches that could cast the simplest spells to heat lunch up or boil water.

Kihyun had heard about other creatures existing out there, though. Creatures that played with alchemy and dark magics, dragons _even_, but he never had the opportunity to witness any of those, stuck inside their small village, named Ieshos, in a middle-class region. Not that he had any complaints; he lived a good and tranquil life, with his pet at home and his fulfilling job that paid his rent and food monthly, and everyone seemed to genuinely be fond of him. He was diligent, responsible and took his work very seriously. He had yet to give up on one of his patients, even when it was obvious and clear there was no remedy for them.

There was, however, another wicca witch in town whose only purpose in life was to get Kihyun on his nerves, even when he was usually patient and calm, which meant he got on his nerves really _good_. Contrary to Kihyun’s job, his sworn enemy used his magic to create potions and oils that worked like drugs, sold sweet candles and herbs that made Kihyun’s patients’ blood sugar levels rise until their livers gave up, and sold crystal drinks that had kids running outside until late at night. When he faced him about his wicked actions, his only reply was that people wanted to buy them, and that we all needed a little (harmless, he said, but Kihyun had snorted) fun sometimes.

He was the one and only Lee Minhyuk, with bright, red hair and gentle features with the softest skin Kihyun had ever seen, he had an uneven blink and there was always glitter over his cheekbones, right above the burgundy lines that crossed his face that showed he was a witch. It irked him how _handsome_ he was, and he was sure if the other man hadn’t been a literal pain in the ass, he would have probably held feelings for him.

But this wasn’t the case.

When he was fully dressed up, his patient’s feet landed on the floor and the sound of coins rustling inside the pocket of his pants filled the quiet room. Kihyun counted briefly the numbers to confirm they were correct before he handed out the paper where he had written what he had to do at home to get better, and when his next check-up should be, before he stood up to shake his hand goodbye, bowing lightly his head.

“See you in three days, Dr. Yoo, hopefully everything will go back to normal!” He folded the paper and saved it inside the same pocket where he kept the cash. “Mr. Lee said that if my bladder wasn’t better after I visited you, I could try one of his magic drinks.”

It was meant to be a joke, the playful tone obvious in his patient’s voice, but Kihyun had to stop himself from exhaling the hugest sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose in a failed attempt not to look completely done.

“Your bladder will probably explode before it gets better if you drink one of those demonic beverages.”

His patient frowned at Kihyun’s distress, but a muffled chuckled left his throat, probably finding amusing how much he despised the other man. Mother Nature, if only he stayed away from _his_ patients…

“Don’t worry, Dr. Yoo, I only trust you when it comes to my health.” His patient reassured him. “But maybe you could try one of the crystal drinks he makes. It will help you relax.”

Kihyun kicked him out before he murdered him right there and then and violated the one and most important rule of wicca, “_harm no one’’_. Even if the devil came in the form of Lee Minhyuk.

The consulting room was dead silent after the door closed, except for Kihyun’s breaths and his steps along the wooden floor, his socks rustling like leaves scrunched during fall. It was common for witches to keep an animal of company next to them in their working place, a crow or a cat, but he liked to maintain his working place neat and organized, hence why his cat was at home, scratching his sofa and leaving grey hairs all over his garments and sheets. He didn’t mind the loneliness, he conveyed it as calmness, and it helped him think and get a hold back of himself after a long and rough day at work.

He would set more eucalyptus leaves to burn, maybe add some lavender to detox his system, and he would cleanse his hands with rosemary before and after using magic, a ritual he followed strictly before he laid on his chair and wrote down everything he did during the day to keep track of his patients, and whether their illnesses got better or worse, someone new came to visit, or someone died. He kept record of everything, divided in folders that he kept stored next to his wicca books, from where he studied and acquired his knowledge from.

As it was getting late outside, the sun hiding behind the horizon and the sky turning a deep shade of indigo behind the rosy clouds, Kihyun decided it was about time to call it a day and head home. Tomorrow was his day off and, although he didn’t have any specific plans set in mind yet, he already knew what herbs he would use for his long bath and what he would cook for lunch, finally having time to indulge in one of his favourite hobbies. Cooking required precision, attention and care, which happened to be his most remarkable qualities (or so everyone said).

Blowing off the candles and the eucalyptus leaves, Kihyun packed his books inside his cloth bag and grabbed the keys to lock the door once he was outside; having someone barging in and stealing his medicines and hard-work wasn’t something he was keen on.

As soon as he stepped outside and pulled the door with him, he felt something was _off_. And he perceived it before he saw him, the scent of gardenias and juniper strong in the air could only belong to someone that Kihyun knew, much to his disliking, well.

“Mr. Lee.” The words tasted heavy on his mouth, almost as if it was hard to just even pronounce them, and he rolled his tongue with each syllable to punctuate it.

“Dr. Yoo.” Minhyuk replied, materialising right next to him. He walked slowly but elegantly, like a snake, but his scent was always so strong that it could make Kihyun dizzy. His clothes were as yellow as a sunflower, in spite of the fact that the moon was rising and it was hard to discern even under the dim light of the firefly lamps.

“What brings you here? You live at the other side of the village.” Kihyun locked the door, not sparing the other man one single glance, and he made sure it was properly locked before he turned on his heels and started walking.

“Spent the afternoon shopping around and then I realized I was close to your consulting room and it was your check out time. Thought I could drop by and say hello?” He smirked, his cheeks beaming with glitter even in the dark.

“Mmmm.” Kihyun’s steps didn’t falter, even when Minhyuk followed his pace way too easily, his long legs almost double the size of Kihyun’s. “That you did. Now you can leave.”

He clutched his heart as if Kihyun’s words had wounded him deeply.

“As pleasant as always.” The sound of his tongue clicking against the roof his mouth resounded through the empty street they walked at, all the shop stalls already closed and everyone was at home, preparing dinner and getting ready to go to sleep. “Hope this is not the way you treat your clients, _Kihyunnie_.”

A stray cat crossed his way and Kihyun almost tripped trying to avoid stepping on him. When Minhyuk reached out to help him, his cold fingers burned his skin like ice.

He quickly retreated his arm, goosebumps spreading like butterflies over his skin, the thin hairs sturdy and pointy under the touch.

“For your information, I’m the nicest to my patients. Just not to you.” Kihyun replied when he managed to ignore the still tickling sensation on his arm.

“Ouch.” He didn’t need to look to know that Minhyuk pouted. It wasn’t hard to picture the way his round, pink lips would press together and stick out, pursed like a kid would do whenever they wouldn’t have their favourite dish for dinner. It was a habit Minhyuk had and that Kihyun had seen too many times. “What to do if my heart is being broken by the doctor himself? I have no one to help me fix it now.”

Kihyun snorted, so loud that he scared a few birds that were resting on the ceiling of the nearest house they walked past by.

“What you should do is stay away from magic and my patients.” He said, sharply. He knew better than to fall for Minhyuk’s easy games and tricks. “_And_ from me.”

“Too bad I can’t do any of those.”

Kihyun stopped walking, now seriously irritated. All he wanted was to go home, get supper and sleep early so that he could enjoy his free day to the most, but someone was determined in ruining his mood even before the day had started.

“Your house is that way, mine is this one. We part ways here.” Kihyun looked at him for the very first time since Minhyuk popped up at the door of his consulting room. The mischievous spark in his eyes ignited his guts.

“Can’t believe you won’t even let a gentleman walk you home. Such a shame.” Minhyuk shook his head, the furious red strands shaking so fast that they looked like a bloodbath.

“Will let a gentleman walk me home when there’s one with me to begin with.” Kihyun retorted, dwelling maybe a little too much on the oddly amused look he gave him. “Goodbye.”

“See ya.” Minhyuk waved him goodbye with his hand, and Kihyun didn’t even wait to see if he remained there until he had already disappeared from his sight, or if he had left right away.

Coming home after a long day at work was always Kihyun’s favourite thing. When he entered the small yet cozy place, took of his shoes at the same time his cat welcomed him and purred against his calves, Kihyun’s heart always felt at ease.

He kneeled lightly to pet her head, only earning him more purrs and meows that could only mean she was hungry and waiting for him to come back home. It felt comforting knowing there was always her waiting for him at home, and that she made sure he didn’t feel alone.

“Kei.” He chuckled when his cat jumped on the kitchen counter and tried to shove her face into the frying pan he used for a quick dinner, where he added some vegetables, noodles and soy sauce. He knew she was hungry, but it would only be worse if she burned her tiny nose.

Cautiously, he picked her up and put her back on the floor once again before he turned off the stove and took the pan to the table, with a pair of chopsticks. Instead of filling Kei’s bowl with her cat food, he decided to put some noodles on another but smaller plate and shared the food with her.

For some reasons, Kei loved his hand-made food more than the one he bought at the local shops. Even when it was made out of the finest meat and ingredients for her, she would prefer eating cheap noodles next to him than her expensive wet beef food.

“How have you been today, Kei?” He asked as he picked some noodles with his chopsticks. Usually, she would reply to him with a few meows, but she was too busy with food to even care. With a smile on his lips, he caressed her tiny head before he went back to his dinner, aiming on finishing it as soon as possible so he could go to sleep early.

Unable to go to bed without leaving everything clean, Kihyun made sure to wash the dishes and the table before he left them to dry and went to his bedroom, where he changed into comfortable clothes, brushed his teeth and snuggled inside his sheets, leaving room for Kei, who took no longer than a couple minutes to join him.

With a furred heater lying on top of his chest like every night, Kihyun closed his eyes and slipped into the world of unconsciousness.

**

It only needed a few minutes for Kihyun to be able to transform hyssop and lemon into his favourite bath salts. Although with a faint hint of turpentine to its fragrance, hyssop resembled more to lavender, and with its protective and purification properties it matched perfect with the lemon scent and for Kihyun’s purpose; to relax.

He filled his marble bathtub with balmy water that didn’t match the sultry weather outside. It was cloudy, cool and humid, but inside Kihyun’s humble house it was warm enough for him to strip off his clothes and get inside the water without shivering. He didn’t like it too warm anyways, it was bad for his sensitive skin and he would get red spots all over afterwards.

Once inside, he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply the mix he had prepared earlier, feeling immediately its effects on him: his muscles relaxed, his eyes felt heavy, his breathing was so slow he thought he was asleep. His brain floated in calmness as he tried to focus on every sensation that ran through his body instead.

Although he wasn’t praying, Kihyun focused his attention on washing away every negative thought inside his brain that could keep him away from the Triple Goddess and his wicca path; being one with nature, with his surroundings and being in peace with one self was the most important rules he had to follow, and he couldn’t always stay truthful to them.

When the water turned lukewarm, slowly he opened his eyes, blinking a few times so he could get used to the faint light the sky-blue candles he’s settled around emanated.

He took his sweet time with his own body afterwards, drying and moisturizing with no rush, something he could only do once a week, since any other day he’d have to hurry up and head to work in a few minutes.

Kei was sleeping on the small couch when he walked into the living room, dragging his bare feet along the parqueted floor. The wood creaked like stale bread whenever he took a step, rotten from the humidity from its insides, a reminder that he should probably do something about it before the floor collapsed one day with him on top.

It had stopped raining when he opened the door and left his house, some spare coins inside the pockets of his baggy, satin pants and his still damp hair was dishevelled, the brunette strands pointing everywhere. The heavy smell of wet soil and rain gave him an oddly sense of comfort that put a smile on his face, and he ventured into the streets newly filled with merchants and citizens that went out as soon as the rainy clouds dissipated, although it was still not sunny and rather chilly. He was glad he hadn’t forgotten to take his favourite thin wool cardigan from his wardrobe before leaving the house.

He was recognized many times as he crossed the streets, by patients and acquaintances from witchcraft school, or even by the shop stalls owners that recognized him. They weren’t a big town and around the same neighbourhood everyone knew each other.

Stopping by his favourite and most trustable herbal store where he could acquire things he needed to work, Kihyun bought some eucalyptus leaves (because he ran out of them the other day), aloe leaves, crystalized ginger and witch hazel extract; checking out each one of them from his to buy list. The store owner, an old lady with face full of wrinkles, but whose heart was as tender as the sun, always addressed him as if he was her own grandson, and Kihyun was so fond of her that most of the times he didn’t charge her when she visited at the consulting room. She only had this store and not many people bought (since there was him to heal them), so it was the least he could do.

“My dear Kihyun.” She gestured for him to come closer so she could grab his hands. “How have you been? Has work been good to you these days?”

“Yes.” He nodded, her warm hands making him feel safe. “It’s been busy but good. Most people have or are recovering, I feel like everyday I am able to do better.”

She smiled at him, her eyes disappearing in a thin line and her nose scrunching up.

“That’s good to hear, my beloved. I hope this senile woman is still able to help you during your hard-work. It would be good if I can still be useful like that.” Her laugh echoed through the tiny store, reverberating across the glasses and cups where she kept stored her goods.

“Don’t say things like that!” Kihyun replied. He knew it was a light-hearted joke, but those words still sounded off to his ears. He knew everyone, sooner or later, had to return to the earth where they belonged, but some people were harder to let go than others.

“There, there, my child.” As playful and petite as ever, she packed all the ingredients he had asked for earlier into small fabric sleeves that she crafted by herself, using esparto and cotton, and gave them to him one by one.

“Thank you, Ms. Shin.” Bowing his head and back almost to a perfect 90º degree angle, he put the bags inside his pants where he kept the coins, using them to pay instead. The metallic sound inside the cash registered got mixed with Kihyun’s words as he bid his goodbye, bowed again and left the cozy store behind.

As the wet floor dried up after the rain ceased, his steps became louder everytime he walked past by one of the stalls where they sold everything one could imagine, from common food to magic potions that bubbled and were surrounded by smoke and that Kihyun wouldn’t try even for a million wons. It always caught his attention how kids were attracted to the colourful and jazzy drinks even though they smelled like rotten eggs and, he was sure, couldn’t be _that_ healthy. It looked like something Minhyuk would sell at his place and that only made him squint harder at the crystal bottles.

“Dr. Yoo you don’t so look satisfied.”

Kihyun quickly craned his neck to the side, recognizing that voice right away.

A woman, with short, black hair and a yellow lace atop stood in front of him, her bright, grey eyes and the silver, sparkly lines that crossed her forehead and went down to her cheeks gave her an otherworldly sense of beauty. She had broad shoulders, but a very thin waist wrapped around a long, flowery skirt of the same colour as her face lines.

“Wonhee.”

Almost unconsciously, his lips spread into a wide smile as he approached her, and without hesitations she threw herself into his arms, wrapping them around his neck into a very tight hug. She was too heavy for him, but he stood still and returned the embrace.

“I can’t believe my own two eyes!” She said, still not letting go of him. “Kihyun, _the_ Kihyun, is alive and breathing? In this economy?!”

He snorted lightly.

“You know I’ve been busy, I didn’t mean to ghost you and Changkyun.”

“That’s what you always say.” She broke the hug only to give him a very condescending look. It was obvious she was happy to see him, but not so happy about it happening after around a month, maybe even a bit more. Sometimes Kihyun got so absorbed into his work and his own world that he forgot he had them out there, as self-centred as it might sound.

“How are you? You look gorgeous.” He stated, and it wasn’t a lie. It felt as if everytime he saw Wonhee, she got prettier. They’ve been friends since they were kids, but since she came to terms with her shapeshifter nature, she matured and was able to control her animal – a wolf – which only made her grow stronger, more mature and beautiful, more resembling to a wolf itself.

“Don’t play me with easy tricks, Kihyunnie. I’m still upset you haven’t reached out to me or Changkyun for _months_.” She pouted, and it was obvious she was more sad than angry. “But I’m good. I started working at the circus last week with our clan and so far it’s going quite well. Changkyun still works as a full-time teacher at school.”

Wonhee and Changkyun were an interesting pair to Kihyun’s eyes. He wondered if it was a soulmate thing how her shapeshifting animal was a wolf, and how much he resembled to one. Even while being just a common citizen, everyone had always told Changkyun his spirit animal was a wolf, and then Wonhee came and was a _true_ wolf. It shouldn’t even be surprising that they got together 5 years ago and, to this day, they were as in love as the very first one.

“You’ve started working too?” Kihyun asked, excited. He’d only seen Wonhee’s wolf form a couple of times, but it was imposing and breath-taking, and seeing her in action could only be better. He made a mental note to drop by the circus next time he had some free time to see his long-time friend performing. “That’s good to hear, Wonnie. We should meet up one of these days, the 3 of us. To make up for my messy self, we can use my place as the meeting point.”

Wonhee chuckled.

“Won’t you kick Changkyun out the moment he sits on your couch?”

“As long as he’s fully dressed.” He grunted, war memories flashing through his brain. “But I meant it, you guys should come one day. Me and Kei would be more than pleased to welcome you.”

“Will tell Changkyun.” Wonhee smiled, her arm surrounding Kihyun’s neck as they walked through the streets. “But if you ghost me for a month again, I will look for you personally and bite off your -”

“Okay, okay.” Kihyun raised his arms in defeat. “I got it. I’m sorry, though, I really didn’t mean to. I just got distracted with work and then I was so tired that I went straight back home.”

“I know your ways, Ki, we’ve been friends for Mother Nature knows how long.” Her black hair flew around as she shook her head, some hitting his face. “You’re a workaholic. But I miss my best friend.”

Kihyun smiled, half-apologetic, half-endeared.

“Missed you too, Wonnie.”

“Liar.” She let go of him, sticking out his tongue. “You would have come see me if you did.”

Before he could reply, even though he actually had no way of coming up with a proper excuse for that, Changkyun showed up from around the corner as he finished his day at the local school where he worked at as a sciences teacher.

“Are my eyes deceiving me?” Was the first thing he asked, blinking a few times upon seeing Kihyun.

His hair was the same ash grey as Wonhee’s face lines, and far from making him look old, it made him look mysterious and handsome, in a very sharp way.

“I’m alive.” Kihyun replied, and Changkyun touched him a couple of times to make sure it wasn’t an hallucination.

“Astounding.” He punctuated each syllable so strong that he almost spat. “The excellent Dr. Yoo decided to leave his cave and grace us with his presence.”

“He didn’t.” Wonhee intervened. “I was just lucky enough to come across him at the Main Street. Otherwise we would still consider him dead.”

Changkyun clicked his tongue, but that didn’t stop him from hugging Kihyun as well. He was too touchy for his liking, but he grew up in a different house in a different city, and their cultures weren’t the same. Kihyun didn’t truly mind as long as it wasn’t every second of the day.

“Don’t be so dramatic, Wonnie.” Kihyun poked her arm, playfully, but she stood firm on her words.

They walked together for some time more, Kihyun insisted in accompanying them home, and they insisted in him staying for dinner, but he had to wake up early to work the following morning and he truly _hated_ leaving Kei alone. Besides, he had to buy food on his way back or he wouldn’t have anything for the following days.

Even though reluctantly, both Wonhee and Changkyun let him go, not without making him promise and reassure them at least a thousand times that he wouldn’t disappear again, and that he would make sure to stay in touch, no matter how forgetful he was.

As the night dawned upon the village and the shop stalls started closing off, Kihyun was already walking back home with a huge bag filled with groceries that it was almost too heavy to carry on one hand by himself, but there wasn’t long left and he was getting too sleepy to even stop to rest for a bit.

However, before he could reach his destination, something grabbed his attention by the corner of his eyes, and he left the bag on the floor to take a look properly, although sneakily.

It was dark, but he was able to recognize that crimson head anywhere now, and he was sure if the man turned around he would see the sparkling glitter on his cheeks.

It was almost comical how he was kneeling down in a narrow alley that no one dared to cross, and Kihyun noticed he was holding something between his hands, but he couldn’t pinpoint what.

“Stay quiet.” He whispered, his voice as nasal as always, but he sounded calm, or at least he was _trying_ to be calm. Hiding behind the corner, Kihyun tried to spot what was he holding. “If you peck me I won’t be able to help you.”

Much to his surprise, Kihyun realized it was a bird – probably a pigeon or a crow, which happened to be the most common ones around their village, and by Minhyuk’s words, it seemed to be wounded.

“Exactly, just like that. Good girl.” Minhyuk stood up from the dusty floor, trying to put his bag around his shoulder with one hand while he sheltered the bird with his other one, before he proceeded to use both. “Or good boy, not sure yet. It’s your lucky day, little one, you’re coming home with me and you won’t be leaving until that wing is fully healed.”

And with that, he walked on the opposite direction of the alley to where Kihyun was.

Kihyun got home that day with a funny feeling on his chest that he wasn’t sure where to place at.

**

_“With this fire I summon Nature’s forces,_

_Health now flows to me from hidden sources.”_

Kihyun watched as the white candle he had specifically chosen started burning, smoke emanating from the wick and filling the room, but was masked by the jasmine incense he had left next to it previously. The pentacle he had inscribed with a pin looked right at him as he murmured the words, casting a spell. White candles meant cleansing, clarity, order and spiritual stability, everything he needed for his job. Every week, he burned a candle in Mother Nature’s name and prayed to still be given the healing abilities he’s been harbouring for so long.

Just before he was about to leave, having promised to attend Wonhee’s performance at the circus a couple of days ago, a late patient knocked on the door of his consulting room.

Being careful enough that the candle would still be burning even while he wasn’t making eye contact with it anymore, Kihyun massaged his neck to focus back on reality before he opened the door.

A foot against the doorframe prevented him from closing it in the blink of an eye right away.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, not caring about the yelp of pain the other man let out when the wood crushed his foot against the frame.

“Well.” Minhyuk scratched his nape. “Came for a consultation, but might as well need to get my foot checked out now.”

Kihyun rolled his eyes, but he didn’t try to close the door again. Instead, he walked inside, wary as he observed Minhyuk entering the place after him.

It had been a while since he last visited (see: barged in) and he eyed everything with curious eyes, from the lit-up candle to the huge amount of books that had piled up on Kihyun’s desk.

“Still as pretty as I remembered.” He said, humming in approval. He was suddenly an interiors designer and Kihyun wasn’t aware.

“Don’t make me ask again, Minhyuk.” Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Kihyun sat down on his chair, the old wood creaking under his buttocks.

“As I said, I came for a consultation.” Minhyuk repeated, slowly. He was standing in front of Kihyun’s desk, both hands supporting his weight as he approached closer. “I’ve got a strong back pain since a couple of days ago and I don’t know what it could be.”

“You’re getting old.” He joked, which had Minhyuk rolling his eyes.

“As far as I’m concerned, just by a few days.” He dodged the issue. They were even born in the same year, but Minhyuk’s birth was at the beginning of November, while Kihyun’s was at the end.

“How come you’re here to see me, though, thought your atrocious beverages could solve even the worst of evils.” Kihyun asked, prodding his elbows on the desk.

“Quit that mocking tone, Yoo.” Minhyuk didn’t hesitate. “You know I wouldn’t have come if it weren’t serious, but nothing worked.”

Kihyun muttered something along the lines of ‘’of course it didn’t work” through gritted teeth, but he got up from his seat anyways. After all, Minhyuk was still a citizen of their town and, by that, he was also his doctor. He couldn’t let his personal resentments interfere with his job.

“Sit there.” Kihyun pointed at the stretcher he kept covered with a sheet and with a thin cushion for his patients to lie on.

Because it was above Kihyun’s waist level, he was able to stand behind Minhyuk as he sat down and be taller than him, which was very helpful when it came to these things.

“And take your shirt off.”

His cheeks grew considerably hotter when Minhyuk’s chest rose with a breathy laugh as he did, leaving the red clothing next to him on the bed and exposing his bare back to him.

It was the first time Minhyuk had had an inquiry like that and Kihyun wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt so nervous.

There was a tattoo in between Minhyuk’s shoulder blades, a rose as red as his hair inside a very detailed and intricated mirror embroided with flowers. The trace was so simple yet the tattoo was so beautiful that Kihyun felt the urge to touch the skin, so badly that his own fingers trembled, but he stopped right before.

“Your tattoo is really pretty.” He said, instead. He had to focus on the real matter and not let himself get distracted like this. It was Minhyuk, _after all_.

“Thank you.” Was his simple answer, but the blush creeped up his nape and Kihyun noticed.

“You said you’ve been suffering from back pain these days, right?” He asked, changing topics before he, indeed, traced the lines of the tattoo, and Minhyuk nodded, his whole body shaking with his answer.

Kihyun hummed as a response and put his left hand slightly atop of the right one, both of them above the base of his spine, concentrating his energy right where his spine was born.

A very bright shade of red started emerging from Kihyun’s hands as the root chakra manifested, and he moved his hands all over his back in search for the source of his ailment, until he found it right inside the kidneys, where very tiny stones stored and were causing the urine to have trouble filtering from them through the ureters to the bladder.

Kihyun took a deep breath as he opened his eyes, the red aura disappearing right away. He felt dizzy and needed a few seconds before he could speak again.

“It’s your kidneys.” He walked towards the furniture where he kept stored all his healing elements and pulled out a jade crystal and some pure mint tea bags. “Nothing we should worry about for now, but it’s better to treat those stones before they become bigger.”

Minhyuk quickly covered himself up with his shirt and followed Kihyun to his desk, where he put everything he had grabbed earlier from the shelf.

“This crystal jade will help those stones dissolve, and the mint tea bags are for the swelling. Make sure to drink a cup at least thrice a day, and keep the jade next to your body, even while asleep. If you want, I can make a necklace out of it.”

“It’s okay, I can manage.” Minhyuk put everything Kihyun had given him inside a clothing bag he had brought. “Thanks, Dr. Yoo.”

“No worries.” He replied, and waited for Minhyuk to leave the consultation room, but that didn’t happen. It took him a couple of seconds to realize the other man was waiting for the receipt.

Lightly embarrassed, Kihyun cleared his throat before he calculated how much were the expenses (no extra fee for him being Minhyuk, he promised), and Minhyuk paid him with so much cash that he didn’t even have space to save it.

“You’re closing down?” He asked, when he was already at the door.

Kihyun nodded.

“I’m going to the circus.” He told him, not really sure why. “I’m meeting a friend there, she’s performing.”

“Oh?” Kihyun could swear Minhyuk seemed rather disappointed by his reply, but the hint in his eyes disappeared as fast as it got there. “Well, see you around, then. Thanks again.”

“Make sure to comeback in a week to get checked out again, and definitely if the pain gets worse.” He advised, and Minhyuk hummed before he closed the door, not looking at him.

It left Kihyun frowning for a few minutes whilst he fumbled with his bills and papers for the day, quickly but neatly saving them inside his folder. Minhyuk’s visit had been a last-minute call and if he didn’t rush, he’d be late to see Wonhee, which meant she would skin him alive.

The candle had completely consumed itself in its heat-proof holder, leaving the wick stuck inside the remaining traces of wax, and Kihyun casted his spell once again before he bowed, grabbed his bag and left trotting towards the outskirts of the city, where the circus tent was settled.

Unlike the other day, the sky was clear from clouds and rain, a bright sun making Kihyun sweat like he was showering as he hurried. He had overestimated the distance between his work place and the circus, and how long and fast his legs could take him taking in account how unused he was to physical exercise.

With the tic tac of the clock against him, Kihyun still stopped by a cafeteria midway through the whole town so that he could grab a drink and something to eat, or otherwise he would have fainted before even arriving.

Making sure his matcha cold tea was fully covered and with a raspberry cookie on his hand, he ventured once again outside, feeling less faint and with more energy to endure the rest of the unexpected, small trip.

When he arrived, hands empty but with his heart thumping inside his chest, he spotted the huge yellow and green tent where the shapeshifters performed weekly, and where many citizens and tourists came to spend their money and time, just for the show. He had never been there, but if Wonhee took so much pride in it, it had to mean something good.

A little bit lost, Kihyun wandered around the stony pavement in search of a place where he could validate his entrance ticket, and he found his answer in the form of a man wearing a bellman uniform, from the buttoned red jacket to the hat, and he was checking out tickets while signalling for the people to go inside, one by one. Since he had arrived barely on time, the queue wasn’t long anymore and he quickly got greeted by the quirky bellman and almost pushed inside by the people that were in the queue after him.

Kihyun wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but certainly not what he saw inside. It was obvious the construction and seating belonged to the hands of the wizards, because there was no way common citizens would have been able to build such a place inside a crappy tent. Because the seats were numbered, Kihyun had to get to the grandstands by climbing up some stairs, and he was lucky he had first row and wouldn’t have to almost climb a ladder to get to his seat.

The venue shaped a circle with its grandstands, leaving a round yet huge space in the middle for its participants to perform, and even though the floor seemed as hard as marble, Kihyun was sure the wizards had made sure none of the shapeshifters would get hurt if something were to go wrong.

Kihyun’s throat felt dry in the same instant he sat down, the match tea he had drank earlier already long forgotten, and he was craving for some water to soothe him quite badly, but he couldn’t spot anyone selling bottles, at least not right then, so he had to focus on the performance instead and wait.

When the curtain of the tent closed, everyone inside the place clapped their hands and screamed so loud that it resembled a growl, deafening Kihyun for a few seconds. He didn’t know the circus was _that_ popular among people.

The first couple to show up on stage were two girls. Kihyun didn’t recognize any of them, but the lines in their faces that went down their necks were similar to those Wonhee had, only that were coloured a different shade and with different patterns.

One of the girls was wearing a long, red dress that covered down to her feet, while the other was wearing a golden glittery bodysuit, which resulted in being completely unmatched, but Kihyun was really curious as to what animals they represented.

As if floating, the girl with the long dress was lifted in the air by almost invisible ropes, that Kihyun couldn’t even see from his distance, and danced and moved like there was nothing holding her. The music played loud in the background while a source of light with different colours, that resembled to the chakras Kihyun worked with, pointed at her, giving her dance a dreamy aura that made you feel as if you were in another dimension.

Mid-air, and without any warnings, the girl stood straight as if she was standing on her feet and, while opening her arms, she bungee-jumped into the void, shifting into a phoenix that took Kihyun’s breath away.

Gasping out loud, he pressed his back against the seat, scared he would be burned down from the flames the phoenix had around its tail. As soon as it had appeared, the lady landed on the floor and she was back to her human self, with her long, red dress completely intact.

Everyone started clapping for her, but they weren’t given much time before the second lady joined the scenery, following the same actions as her partner had done, but with a completely different feeling and attitude. The other one had been calm and elegant, while this one was fast and sharp with her movements, the golden glitter kept Kihyun captivated with every move she made, until she jumped too and the loudest roar filled the place when she shifted into the most gorgeous leopard, its spotted fur as shiny and shimmering as her bodysuit had been.

Far from shifting again, the lady in the red dress got on top of the feline and, standing very carefully on top of it, she jumped again into the air, her phoenix form appearing once again.

It was so gorgeous that it was almost hard to believe it was real and not a wizard’s magic trick, but Kihyun had to admit there was some magic behind it, after all, because not everyone was born a shapeshifter the way they did. Although some witches had been able to learn the shifting techniques, it costed too much time and effort, and most of the times they could only shift into smaller animals like mice or rabbits, while these people could shift into even magical creatures like a phoenix.

Two more stages came to scene before Wonhee appeared, Kihyun had been dumbfounded with the man in a blue suit that jumped from the highest height into a sudden enormous pool that was so wide one could drown in like the sea, and when he jumped he shifted into a whole whale in front of them.

Wonhee didn’t perform alone, she and her family were a pack. Usually the animal shifting was kept within the family line, minus some rare exceptions here and there and that Kihyun had no idea how they worked.

She was wearing a grey dress with a furry coat and hat that resembled, probably, to her own skin, just like the rest of her family, and they placed kneeling on the floor at different levels on the stage. When the music started playing, one by one they started dancing to it, and while they moved and jumped from one place to the other, they shifted to their wolves form, as if they were representing an ritual to the Triple Goddess, but without the bonfire in between.

Wonhee’s fur was as silver as her eyes, with small black spots all over her back and tail, but she looked majestic and powerful, and as gorgeous as ever. Kihyun watched his long-time friend with pride and joy as she performed with her family and showed her abilities to the world, ones she had been longing for so long and that she dreamed with everyday since they were teenagers and everyone in her family performed but her.

Kihyun had never seen her family perform before, but he was sure it couldn’t feel as perfect and complete as it did now with her in the middle, howling while she shifted back into her human form and blessed the world with her beauty.

When it finished, Kihyun was still in awe and had trouble breathing, as he had held his breath so many times throughout all the performances that his lungs had forgotten how to. He barely noticed it was time to leave even when half of the people inside the tent had left already.

Outside the sky had turned black, but the stars had decided to grace them with their presence, and Kihyun’s felt all warm inside. He loved the moon and the stars the most, and most of the times at the city he couldn’t see them well because of the firefly lampposts, so it was special to him.

Changkyun approached him before Wonhee did when Kihyun was, once again, like a lost puppy out of the tent, searching where to go.

“Kihyun!” he yelled, startling him for a second. He cheeks were pink, probably from the heat, and his hair was styled up, showing his forehead. “You came!”

“Of course.” Kihyun was slightly offended. “I promised Wonhee I would! That was…wow, I have no words. I never came to the circus before and that was seriously such wonderful performance.”

“I know.” Changkyun smiled, full of teeth and gums, and you could see that he was very proud of his girlfriend’s achievements. “Let’s go, Wonhee is waiting for us.”

Silently, Kihyun followed him into a side tent that was only for the performers, where they did their make up and changed for their stage outfits. Wonhee was waiting outside and her face lit up when she saw him standing next to Changkyun.

“Ki!” She jumped into his arms to wrap him in a hug, almost throwing him to the floor because Wonhee had – well, literally the strength of a wolf, even in her human form. “I was scared you wouldn’t make it.”

He snorted again.

“What’s up with this faith on me? I told you I would, I never break my promises.” He pouted, and she poked his arm, playfully. “That was stunning, Wonnie. You are gorgeous.”

“Aw.” Wonhee smacked his shoulder, pretending to be shy from his compliments. Her pupils still had the shape of those of a wolf and the grey iris had never been as bright before. “I’m sorry to tell you this Ki, but I’m taken.”

Kihyun rolled his eyes.

“I had no idea.” He replied, ironically. To be honest at this point he was surprised they weren’t _engaged_. “But really, Wonnie, that was amazing. I’m really proud of you, you’ve finally achieved everything you wanted since we were kids.”

“I know.” She smiled, as bright as the sun, with her short, dark her making her face even rounder and hence more endearing. “Thank you for coming, it means a lot to me.”

“Can’t say no to you.” Kihyun poked her forehead as he laughed, and Changkyun pretended to be jealous only because he wanted to be included in the conversation.

That night, when Kihyun went back home after he had dinner with his friends (they wouldn’t have it otherwise, he knew well, so he gave up before he even thought of contradicting them), he realized it had been a while since he had felt so comfortable and at ease.

**

The feeling in his stomach that he woke up with was a clear indicator that something wasn’t going well, or that something was going to happen during the day. Kihyun hated that he had this sixth sense, even before he started developing his powers as a witch, and it only grew stronger over time. It didn’t happen often, but, when it did, it was inevitable and prone to be something not to his liking.

Unsettled and with a throbbing headache that set in the lower part of his head, Kihyun took a shower, grabbed some breakfast to eat on his way to work and left the house, unable to stay inside any longer. He felt as if he had to be outside for everything to be okay, but the sensation didn’t fade away, not even in the slightest.

It was hard to ignore when he had patients coming every hour in the morning, and while most of them were just for check up of treatments he had already given rather than diagnosing, or just simple wound healings, it was still bothersome to have that feeling bugging him at the back of his mind and that tied his stomach in knots, sometimes the sensation so vivid and unnerving that his fingers started trembling.

Not even the strongest infusion he could prepare with his favourite herbs that worked just fine for nervousness and untranquil spirits could soothe the anxiety inside of him.

When dawn hovered over them, Kihyun put everything in place inside his consulting room, prepared his bags and called it a day at work, making sure to lock the door before he headed home, as he always did.

On his way back, this time around, he decided to stop by one of the local restaurants to get some dinner, he didn’t trust himself with cooking considering how exhausted he felt, but his stomach had been growling already for hours.

He didn’t even have the time to enter the restaurant before he heard some tossing and screams from the distance, and a large group of people gathered near the city square.

With his heart beating against his ears, Kihyun shifted directions and walked towards the square instead of the restaurant, the feeling he had inside his stomach since very early in the morning only grew heavier as he approached the mass of bodies that gathered around something, or around _someone_.

Kihyun’s opened his eyes in shock when he saw Wonhee lying on the floor, her skin as pale as a white rose and her lips chapped as she tried to breathe for her life. There was a dagger stuck right between her ribcage and blood dripped everywhere, staining her shirt and the floor in a very alarming speed.

Someone called his name, Kihyun couldn’t tell apart who, but he heard the words of ‘_’the physician is here’’_, among many other things, and it took him a couple of seconds to realize they were talking about him.

The one that had to do something and try to save his best friend was _him_.

Coming back from his stupor felt as if someone had punched him right in the guts, and Kihyun quickly kneeled down next to Wonhee, lightly slapping her face while calling her name to keep her awake. Changkyun was next to her too, Kihyun noticed only then, and he was crying so hard that probably the screams he had heard earlier were from him.

Someone joined them in a matter of seconds, Kihyun didn’t need to look to know it was Minhyuk, but he didn’t have it in him to tell him to go away, that his stupid beverages wouldn’t be able to save her now. Minhyuk was only there to help and he felt thankful, because they were able to lift her better between the three of them and quickly carry her inside Kihyun’s consulting room, that was only a couple of minutes away from the square.

Once they got inside, both Minhyuk and Changkyun took care of her while Kihyun prepared everything he needed to take the dagger out, seal the wound and make sure she didn’t keep bleeding until death. It was a matter of life or death and he only had a few minutes. He never recalled another situation where he had to work under so much stress.

“Changkyun, I think it’s better if you wait outside.” Kihyun started, carefully. It wasn’t the best situation and he knew Changkyun would oppose. “I know you want to be with her, but this is very delicate and I’d rather if I could focus properly. I’m sorry but having you next to me doesn’t make it easier for me.”

Changkyun opened his mouth, probably to say that he was going to stay, that he wanted to be next to Wonhee, but he closed it. They didn’t have much time and Kihyun was _pleading_.

“Please.” Changkyun looked at him, so torn that it broke something inside him. “Just save her.”

With that, he left, leaving both Minhyuk and him alone.

What a great combo.

“You’re a witch too.” Kihyun said and Minhyuk gave him a look he couldn’t quite comprehend. “I know you don’t work as a physician like me, but for the love of Mother Nature, Minhyuk, I need your help this time.”

Minhyuk only nodded and went to wash his hands as fast as he could, preparing for anything Kihyun ordered him.

It took every ounce inside of him and his mental power for Minhyuk to take out the dagger while Kihyun guided him whilst using his chakras, making sure he wasn’t wounding any organs or tissues that would only make the situation worse.

As soon as it went out, Kihyun focused entirely on healing with his magic from inside, while Minhyuk stitched the skin as better as he could manage, and they disinfected the wound and dressed it with a few layers, tight enough to stay in place but not enough to stop the blood circulation.

Kihyun almost fainted while Minhyuk finished the dressing, but there was still so many things left to do that he couldn’t allow himself to. He could afterwards, once he was sure Wonhee was safe and sound.

While he prepared a juice with herbs and gathered his crystals and incenses, Minhyuk examined the dagger that they had used to stab Wonhee.

“Uh.” His voice tone made Kihyun close his eyes in distress. “Kihyun.”

“Yes?” He was scared to even ask.

“This doesn’t look…well.”

Kihyun approached him, mixing and crushing the herbs inside a bowl.

“What do you mean?”

Minhyuk frowned.

“This isn’t a common dagger. This is magic.” He answered, after a minute of silence. “Which means…”

“Which means she is poisoned.” Kihyun finished the sentence for him, and he had to support himself on the patients’ bed because his legs almost gave up on him. “For fuck’s sake.”

“I think I recognize this design.” Minhyuk kept on examining the dagger. “I’m quite sure I’ve seen it before when I studied.”

“What is it? Is there an antidote?”

“There must be.” Minhyuk bit his lower lip as he looked over Wonhee, who was shivering on the bed. “Do you perhaps own the book ‘_’the complete book of witchcraft_”? It’s not the one we used at school so I’m not sure you-”

“It’s in my book shelf. Give me a second.”

Indeed, it only took Kihyun a brief seconds to find the book, as he remembered the cover well.

“I’m quite sure I’ve read about it here.” Minhyuk muttered as he started eyeing the pages fast, but making sure he didn’t skip any important parts.

Meanwhile, Kihyun let Changkyun in.

“She’s alive, we healed the wound without any further damages.” He stated, but his voice tone wasn’t relieved at all, and Changkyun noticed. “But it was a magical dagger. Wonhee has been poisoned.”

“W-What.” Changkyun started mumbling. “How can that, who would even…”

Kihyun shook his head.

“I have no idea.” He replied. “It might have been someone that held a grudge against the shapeshifters, or against Wonhee’s pack. Mother Nature will definitely get back to that person, you know she’s merciless when someone hurts one of her own, and shapeshifters are probably the ones more in touch with her, even more than us. They themselves are part of the nature and the price will be paid.”

“I don’t care about prices.” Changkyun whispered, defeated. “I just want her alive.”

“I know.” Kihyun lowered his head. “Me too.”

Tears started rolling down Changkyun’s face as he approached his girlfriend lying on the bed, but Kihyun was unable to do so. It felt like someone was tearing his heart apart from inside his ribcage.

“I found it.” Minhyuk breathed, the words leaving his mouth so fast that Kihyun thought he had imagined it. “But, fuck, fuck. This can’t be. Not _this_ one.”

Kihyun didn’t even know why he had been expecting a positive answer to begin with.

“Minhyuk.” He said, his voice as hard as the rough winter. “What is it?”

“It’s _dark_ magics poison. The only antidote for this is…”

Kihyun’s legs gave up entirely and he fell to the floor, his hand still grabbing the edge of the bed.

Minhyuk didn’t need to say it for him to know.

There was no way he would get _that_ antidote for Wonhee.

It was impossible.

“Minhyuk.” Changkyun almost threatened. “What is it, please.”

“It’s dragon’s blood.” He replied, his voice a mere whisper. “The only way to counter dark magics poisons is with dragon’s blood, one that they give out themselves.”

Changkyun didn’t reply and Kihyun felt the tears prickling at the corner of his eyes.

There was no way –

“Kihyun.” Minhyuk left the book on the table, and the sparkle inside his eyes burned so bright that it almost scared him. “Get up from there.”

“There’s nothing we can do, Minhyuk, just…go away.”

Minhyuk didn’t budge.

“We have to go.” He insisted, making him frown in annoyance. He wasn’t feeling exactly playful for these type of jokes.

“Go where, exactly?” he asked, not amused one bit.

“We’re going to make the dragons a visit, obviously.” He said, solemnly.

Kihyun gaped at him.

“There’s exactly a month left before that poison fully kills Wonhee and her organs cease their function. Until then, she will slowly start fading, but it won’t be irreversible until it’s over. We have a chance.”

“Are you crazy?” Was the only thing that crossed Kihyun’s mind. Going to the dragons’ land? Which meant crossing uncountable nations where they could get easily killed, and without any actual reassurances that they would success?

“Been asked that many times.” Minhyuk reached out his hand to help him stand up and Kihyun grabbed it. “But if you want her to live – and I know you do – this is our only choice.”

“I can’t just leave – Changkyun -”

“Don’t worry about me.” He said, his fingers softly caressing Wonhee’s forehead. “I will be okay. I’ll take care of her while I wait for you to come back.”

“If we even come back…” Kihyun muttered. His head was spinning around so fast that at this point he was sure he was dreaming. What do you mean tomorrow he wouldn’t wake up in his bed, pet his cat’s head and meet Wonhee after? What do you mean he would need to travel the entire nation for a month to find the dragons’ land, and beg them for the antidote so that Wonhee could live? Indeed, everything had to be a dream.

But it wasn’t, and Minhyuk smacked his back so hard that he was sure it couldn’t be after that.

“I.” Kihyun didn’t even know what to say. “I’ll go home and pack…Changkyun you can move to my house, if you want. It’s in a much quieter neighbourhood than yours and there’s plenty of space. Plus there’s Kei too and she will keep you company as well.”

Changkyun nodded, agreeing with the idea.

Kihyun turned to look at Minhyuk.

“Can’t believe I’ve agreed with this and we are going to do it.” And with _you_, he thought. But it was only right, since Minhyuk was the only other witch in town besides him and, Goddess, were they going to need their knowledge and magic… “But if it’s to save Wonhee’s life, I’d go to the end of the world.”

“I didn’t know Wonhee that well, but I’d never say no to this type of trip.” Minhyuk confessed. “I’ve always wanted to see a dragon.”

“It’s your lucky month, I guess.” Kihyun replied before he started packing everything inside his bag so that he could go home to prepare everything and part as soon as possible that night.

They didn’t have any time to lose.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last part!

Kihyun stared suspiciously at the compass that Minhyuk had brought alongside with him from his place. They had decided to meet closer to Kihyun’s, since he didn’t want to go near the town square and Minhyuk’s house was on the other side, and he had showed up with an olive green backpack, a rolled map on one hand and a compass on the other. He looked like a kid ready to go on a school trip.

Kihyun, on the other side, had no idea as to what he should even pack, so he brought something he bought from a wizard a few months ago, a box that became as tiny as a bean when he clicked the button underneath where he kept his money stored and could keep safe with him for the treacherous adventure, alongside with clothes, blankets and other supplies.

“Does that even work?” He asked, unsure. Nothing coming from Minhyuk seemed reliable at all and he couldn’t believe he was stuck in a one-month trip with him. He’d soon end up throwing himself off a cliff than exist next to him, but Wonhee’s life was at stake.

“Supposedly.” Minhyuk grinned. “I hope so.”

Kihyun gave him a look.

“Hey, at least the map does. I configured it myself.”

“For the love of Mother Nature.” Kihyun groaned, loud. “We will be killed before we even leave.”

“Have a little faith, Dr. Yoo.” Minhyuk gave him the thumbs up.

Goddess, that was going to be a really _long_ journey.

The first step to travel to the dragons’ land was to get out of the city, and for that they needed to cross the outskirts until they made it to the border where the next region began. Problem was, the outskirts were a rather…dangerous zone. Full of burglars, scammers and – the scariest part, full of witches, known as warlocks, that had abandoned wicca in order to follow the Dark Magics.

His whole body trembled just at the mere thought, making him grab tightly the straps of the backpack on his back that was a little bit more heavier than what he could probably carry, but that he could handle (or so he thought).

“Shall we get going?” Minhyuk asked and he nodded. He had said goodbye to Changkyun earlier and had left a hand-written note on the door of his consulting room. He was sad and worried he had to leave all his patients alone and behind for a whole month, but he wasn’t going to let his childhood best friend die if he could do something to prevent it.

Taking a deep breath and not looking behind his back, Kihyun started walking and Minhyuk followed him.

A strong wave of nostalgia hit him when they walked past the circus tent. It only had been a few days since he went there, but it somehow felt like eons ago. Like it happened in another life, or in a dream, Kihyun wasn’t sure, but it surely didn’t feel real. Everything was now empty, quiet and, when he payed attention, it also looked old and one could even say abandoned; there was dust pilling up on the tent and the once bright yellow looked pale and sad.

Or perhaps it was Kihyun who was sad, things were hard to differentiate at that point.

“If we make it out alive after tonight, I’m positive we will make it through the whole journey.” Minhyuk was the first one to break the silence that had fallen among them, his nasal voice was soft and accompanied by the rustling of his shoes through the poorly pavemented road.

“Keep everything close to you and don’t make eye contact with anyone.” Kihyun warned once they started seeing a few houses from afar, all dark colours and with ceilings that were about to fall to the ground.

Minhyuk hummed and he – unconsciously – moved closed towards Kihyun once they entered. No one was around except for a couple of rats that greeted them across the dirty streets and he internally wished there were people around, because being alone like this was even scarier. It felt as if someone was breathing down their necks and would come for them at any time.

“The Dark Magic is so heavy here.” Minhyuk whispered, close to him. He was sweating just as much. “It’s getting hard to breathe.”

“I know.” Kihyun felt suffocated too, as if they were entering Hell itself. “Perhaps we should find a place to sleep at and leave early in the morning, might be safer than crossing through the whole town now at night.”

Minhyuk opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by the sound of glass breaking, a cat meowing and a few screams that sent goosebumps all over Kihyun’s skin.

_Fuck_.

“Yes.” Minhyuk’s reply was rotund, his voice barely audible. He looked as scared as Kihyun was. “Let’s find…something. We can’t stay the night outside, not here.”

Finding something was easier said than done, even more in the neighbourhood they had just entered. Kihyun was worried they’d find a place only to be murdered over-night, or even worse.

Minhyuk’s map lit up with tiny, purple spots that showed the different places that corresponded to either a hostel or a pension, but the map didn’t show whether they were trustable or not.

The first place the map showed that was the closest to them was a very old building in the middle of a narrow street. Its wooden door was completely eaten out by termites and the holes were so big that Kihyun could put both of his fists inside. Voices could be heard from inside, with very loud laughs and noises that resembled to those people mentioned about scary witches in fairy tales for kids.

“Uh.” He looked at Minhyuk from above his shoulder, as the other man peeked at the inside from one of the holes, squinting as he tried to see what was inside.

Minhyuk shook his head.

“I can’t see shit.” He said, in the end, straightening up. His back cracked as he did so. “But I’d say let’s check another place…”

Even though the more they spent looking for a place, the more they were exposed in that neighbourhood, Kihyun agreed that the place didn’t look as the most…convenient one. Even if they’d only seen the outside.

Before they managed to get out of the alley, the sound of a door creaking open nearly next to them scared the heck out of him, and Kihyun almost jolted into Minhyuk’s arms, pressing his body close to him as he tried to hide behind an invisible wall.

Minhyuk did the first thing that crossed his mind: he grabbed Kihyun’s hand and started running without looking behind.

After a few minutes, completely breathless and exhausted, Kihyun rested his hands on his knees as his lungs burned for oxygen and his fingers tingled with the aftermath of Minhyuk’s around.

When he looked up and their eyes met, Minhyuk started laughing, covering his mouth with his own hands to muffle the sounds. He looked like someone that had just lost their mind.

“This is insane.” He voiced out, in the end, still between laughs. “We are on the verge of dying every second and we haven’t even left the region yet.”

“Pretty.” Kihyun responded, ironically, as he stole the map from the other’s hands and took a look instead, trying to figure out where they were now.

Thankfully, there was another place where they could – supposedly – sleep at a rather close distance from their actual position, and Kihyun grabbed tightly his backpack before heading in that direction, sending prayers to every God and Goddess that existed in Wicca to help him make it out alive.

Much to his surprise, the hostel they came across looked more like a cheap motel, but it was already way more decent than the one they saw before, probably because this one was closer to their town than the other. In the morning, they would just rush their way through the suburbs, but at least in the daylight.

He knocked on the door three times, but got no answer, and Minhyuk decided to open it by his own criteria. The inside didn’t look at all like anything Kihyun would have pictured inside his mind when he thought of a hostel or a hotel, but the sensation he got from the one before wasn’t here, which meant they were safe from the Dark Magics – at least for now.

A lady showed up behind what was supposed to be the counter, her face full of red lines that started at her hairline and disappeared down her cleavage, with a black cross in the middle of her forehead that matched her long, long nails. She was a witch, and although he couldn’t see any obscure aura coming from her, something didn’t seem to be completely well either.

“Oh.” She said, her voice as soft as silk. “Do I have visitants?”

“We just want to spend the night.” Minhyuk said, standing close to him again. “If you could rent us a room.”

“Of course.” She licked her lips and her tongue was bifid, with a silver metal bud in the middle, right before the partition. “Will give the best room to my lovebirds.”

“We’re not-” Kihyun started, but Minhyuk elbowed him to shut him up. They weren’t in a position to complain.

“Ah, the fresh love of the youth. How I miss those times.” She said as she grabbed something from her behind that sounded like keys. It was too dark for him to see well. “Will give a discount to my fellow witches.”

Kihyun didn’t have it in him to say that they were, most likely, not at all like her. Instead, he said thank you as he grabbed the keys and followed her upstairs, almost tripping a couple of times with the tail of her dress.

“Did you come here only to sleep together? You must like rough, then.” She teased as she opened the door selected for them, and Kihyun almost choked on his own spit at her words. As if they…

“What can I say, I like adventures.” Minhyuk played back, startling him. He was too much at a loss for words.

“And that’s how it should be.” The lady winked at them. “But be careful, you will find things here that should not be played with.”

Her tone got darker and Kihyun just wanted to call his mother and cuddle with her to sleep, protected from any enemies and mysterious ladies with bifid tongues that warned them about the dangers outside.

“Thanks.” Minhyuk bowed lightly at her before she closed the door, leaving the two of them alone once again.

The inside of the room was just as dark as the entrance had been, but the moonlight entered directly and they got a decent view of what was inside.

A one single bed with a door on the other side that led to the toilet.

Of course there was only one bed, the lady thought they were here to have a wild night of sex instead of being scaredy-cats that just wanted for the sun to rise already.

“I can sleep on the floor.” Minhyuk said, leaving his backpack next to the bed to use it as a pillow, but Kihyun felt bad.

“Let’s just share. As long as you don’t move much we should be ok, I wouldn’t trust that floor to sleep on.”

Minhyuk gave him a look that he didn’t quite comprehend, but nodded in the end, getting on the bed.

Because he took the side of the wall and Kihyun was, let’s be honest, scared to death, it resulted instead in him cuddling the other man the entire night, refusing to be too close to the edge of the bed in case a hand from an evil witch decided to strangle him in his sleep.

“You’re too hot.” Minhyuk grunted, trying to find a better position on his side.

“Excuse me?” Kihyun opened his eyes in disbelief. Did he just say-

“You’re literally an oven. It’s making me sweat buckets.” Minhyuk explained and Kihyun felt the blush creeping up his nape, feeling like a total dumbass for having thought he meant otherwise.

“Sorry. I’m a little tense.” He tried to excuse himself, but moving closer to the edge was out of question, so Minhyuk had to bear with him.

Bearing with him ended up meaning he took of his shirt and pants, lying only with his briefs next to him, and Kihyun almost had a stroke when he felt the warmth his skin released and that was just a few inches away from him.

Mother Nature was testing him and it was in the form of his worst enemy.

When the sun rose and they woke up with the first sun rays, Kihyun had one leg above Minhyuk’s waist, while the other had his neck resting on his shoulder, so close that Kihyun could have kissed him had he want to.

For the cherry on top, he could feel Minhyuk’s morning wood against his thigh, which sent him off to the other side of the room, getting up so fast that he almost tripped and fell.

Minhyuk, who wasn’t aware of the situation, only grunted and asked for five more minutes of sleep, but Kihyun didn’t allow him to once he gained his composure back and made sure his cheeks didn’t look as red as the other’s hair.

They weren’t in a safe place and they needed to leave as soon as possible.

When Minhyuk got aware of his surroundings and realized he wasn’t in his bed at home, he quickly got up and put his clothes on, making sure they both visited the toilet before starting their journey once again.

The lady at the counter seemed rather disappointed when she saw them.

“You guys were so silent I fell asleep after 1 hour.” Was the first thing she said when they walked up to the counter. “Boring.”

“I gagged him.” Minhyuk lied, winking at her, and Kihyun felt the need to open a hole in the floor and throw himself inside. That seemed to please her, though, because she smiled as slyly as a snake before she showed them the bill.

Kihyun had already grabbed some money back at the room (so he didn’t have to pull out his secret box in here, he still didn’t feel safe) and paid for the both of them. They’d have time to square the accounts later.

Although still fishy, the suburbs didn’t feel the same at all during day light than at night. It had only been four or five hours at most, but the sensation of having someone following them wasn’t there anymore, even if it was still hard to breathe properly.

Agreeing that it would be better to get some food when they got out of there and arrived in the next region, both of them walked silently through the – still – empty streets and followed as the map indicated, avoiding the narrowest and darkest alleys for their sake.

Midway between the suburbs and the border, they came across a huge flea market that went all the way down the street and where they sold any second-hand goods you could think of.

Kihyun got an idea.

“Let’s buy a carriage.”

Minhyuk gaped like a fish a couple of times before he decided Kihyun’s idea wasn’t so misbegotten after all, considering how much they needed to walk.

“Do you think they’d have some of that here?”

Kihyun shrugged.

“It’s a flea market.” Was his simple answer. “And I’m sure more than half of them are wizards, after all.”

Minhyuk hummed as they started walking through the different street stalls, searching for one that talked about buying or renting cars.

They found it almost at the end of the line, when Kihyun was on the verge of giving up.

He squinted at the prices, them being obviously more pricey than what it usually costed to rent a low-quality carriage, but he paid through gritted teeth, to a man that smiled so bright that it was obvious he knew he was scamming them.

The carriage consisted in a rather small cabin with two windows and four wheels that was fuelled by magic. Kihyun asked what they were supposed to do if they got stuck in the middle of nowhere, but the owner said his carriages never failed and lasted for at least over two years.

It seemed suspicious, and most likely a lie, but he had no other choice than to agree to his terms and conditions and just pray it wouldn’t break down after ten minutes.

Minhyuk was the one driving even though both of them lacked any license, and he used the map to (try to) follow the road that would lead them into the next region.

When they saw the big buildings and clouds of smoke in the distance, the hugest sigh of relief filled the small cabin at the same time.

There, right on sight, was Eshil – the Capital of Witchcraft.

**

Kihyun was wonderstruck.

Nearly a hundred skyscrapers rose high in the sky in front of his eyes as he stared from outside the window of their carriage, half of his head stuck out of it. The strong wind wasn’t enough to bother him and his sight, even though his eyes watered.

As soon as they crossed the border and entered the Capital, his ears filled with the sound of people going here and there for work, shops full of clients that admired every type of witch-crafted goods, kids that played in magical parks but supervised by their parents, and magic carriages that filled the roads. It almost seemed as if they had entered another world, or another era. They only lived in a mid-class region, but the difference was striking. He could see Minhyuk opening his mouth in awe even from the driving seat.

“We should stop for a few minutes and get something to eat, we haven’t filled our stomachs since last night.” He said, parking the car in the first free spot available at one of the main streets. It took them nearly twenty minutes, but they got lucky in the end and someone left their spot right ahead of them.

“To be honest,” Kihyun was the first one to get off the car, feeling the fresh air on his face. “I’m starving.”

“Me too.”

The smell in the air was peculiar, to say something at the very least.

Kihyun could discern a tad of the herbs and oils he used at work from every corner and nook, he could feel the magic floating around like he had never felt before. It was almost like coming home in a place where he least expected it to.

“Let’s check around?” Minhyuk suggested, taking Kihyun out of his daydream. In the future, if he had the chance, he really wanted to come back to Eshil, only to spend a few days wandering around, visiting every shop and place and learning new things that could be useful for his job.

They walked in silence next to each other on the main sidewalk, eyes open wide as they looked everywhere around them like pure tourists.

The first restaurant they came across was only a few steps away from their parking spot and, much to their surprise, the menu didn’t look that pocket-wrecking. It was – _almost_ – affordable.

Witches wearing all type of elegant dresses and suits were sitting at the tables, with their colourful hairs and red lines that decorated their faces just like that one witch back at the suburbs had, but Kihyun realized only then what was the difference – the black cross she had in the middle of her forehead was related to the Dark Cults, hence why it didn’t feel right at all.

Every witch was born with the red lines on their faces, but the design and pattern were different for each one of them. No matter how many there were, you’d never find two with the same one.

Minhyuk’s lines matched his beautiful crimson hair, but the part where they crossed his high cheekbones had glitter all over them, giving him a dreamy, joyful feeling. Kihyun didn’t have any glitter on his, but they were a different shade of red on his cheeks than the rest of his face and he thought that attribute was unique and made him look attractive.

The waiter didn’t question their fashion choices and led them to one of the empty tables without any further questions, where a menu was awaiting for them.

Every dish was named, in a very original way, like a magic spell, Kihyun noticed when he was reading them aloud for the both of them and Minhyuk had chuckled at the names.

There were ingredients for all tastes, and while Kihyun ordered something with only beef and more vegetables, Minhyuk opted for a heavier on meat dish. He was glad they could be completely assured those animals were bred, raised and used for food with the rituals Wicca described to those that followed the religion. Otherwise, for Kihyun it always felt like murder and, hence, it was against his beliefs and principles.

The taste of basil, parsley and rosemary was strong in his plate – Kihyun’s taste buds were marvelled with each one of them. Sure, he’s eaten them before, and even used them himself for his cooking, but they’ve never tasted this good before. Each cent he had to pay for it was worth it and his tummy was satisfied.

Minhyuk surely seemed to agree with him, because he finished his food before Kihyun and he certainly wasn’t a slow eater.

“We have replenished our energy now.” Kihyun was the first one to talk after they had literally devoured their meals, calling for the waiter to bring them the bill so they could pay and go on with their journey.

The big city felt even more beautiful with their stomachs full and Minhyuk seemed to feel some type of fancy, because he dragged Kihyun towards the nearest shops – alleging they needed supplies, which wasn’t that much of a lie, but he knew better than to believe Minhyuk’s intentions.

The first shop they entered sold hand-made crystals, Kihyun’s mouth was agape as he stared around. From amethysts to zircons, every stall was classified in alphabetic order and had every single stone that could be found in Wicca’s books and that Kihyun could only dream of having at his consulting room, resigned to only be able to own those most common ones that could be used for almost every ailment.

He got so distracted looking through the crystal shelves that he didn’t even notice Minhyuk talking to the owner about the beverages they sold at the other side of the store, and by the time he realized he was already holding two bubbly, smoky pink drinks on each one of his hands that resembled exactly to the ones he sold back in their town.

“You have to be kidding me.” Kihyun squinted, taking a step back when Minhyuk approached him with the sliest of the smirks.

“You gotta try it.” He insisted, reaching out for Kihyun to get hold of it.

Hesitantly, he did, but only because the shop owner was staring and he hated throwing a tantrum in front of other people.

“There’s no way I’m trying this.” He hissed under his breath, dragging Minhyuk outside, who seemed to find everything extremely amusing.

“C’mon, Dr. Yoo. They’re selling this here and you still think I’m the spawn of the Dark Magics? It can’t possibly be _that_ bad.”

He would cut off his own tongue before admitting aloud that maybe Minhyuk had a point. Instead, he looked again at the glass between his hands, frizzing and smelling like freshly picked strawberries.

“You’re not going to drug me, are you?” He asked, still doubtful.

Minhyuk seemed terribly offended at that.

“Of course not.” He defended himself. “It doesn’t even have one ounce of alcohol, just a little bit of magic and fun.”

It still sounded fishy to Kihyun’s ears, but he decided to put his prejudices aside and give it a try. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

Uncertainly, Kihyun brought the glass towards his lips, wetting them just a bit to see how it tasted, but when his lips remained in place and didn’t seem to fall off just from the liquid, he ventured into the unknown and sipped the beverage down.

It tasted fruity and sweet, the bubbles weren’t too strong and didn’t make him scrunch his face uncomfortably, but there was a fuzzy feeling that came along with it and that settled in the upper part of his tummy that never happened with any other drink. It didn’t do anything special, really, but Kihyun was sure the feeling was _there_. Somehow he felt lighter, more relaxed and – he could even dare to say, happier.

“You didn’t die, did you?” Minhyuk asked, eyebrows raised playfully as he took slow sips from his pink drink as well. Kihyun wondered if it was the effect of the beverage but the glitter looked prettier than ever on him. “See, you should trust me more.”

“As if.” Kihyun replied back, but he wasn’t serious about it and Minhyuk knew it well, because he was smiling too.

It came to him that Minhyuk maybe (or maybe not) wasn’t as bad as he had tried to picture him before, and that maybe he only wanted to help people feel better in a way Kihyun couldn’t reach, because physical health was not just everything to care about.

On their way back to the carriage, where their hands brushed together more often than not, Kihyun spotted a tarot-cards reading place and he deliberately held Minhyuk’s hand in his moments of careless euphoria and took them both inside.

The place was dark, only lightened up by scented candles over the huge table in the middle of the room and there was a lady sitting behind. Her hair was covered with a satin blue scarf and her eyes were as red as the lines on her face.

“Welcome to The Sword and Rose.” She said, her voice deep and soothing like honey. “Would you like me to read your cards today?”

“Yes.” Kihyun replied, bowing before he took a seat in one of the empty chairs in front of the desk. Minhyuk, although unsure, followed him. “I’d like a three-card spread today.”

Without any further reply, the witch nodded and, after scrambling the cards a few times, she cut the deck in three halves with her left hand, placing two halves on each side of the table and the other in the middle, all of them on top the pentagon drawn over the table, the symbol that represented Wicca.

“Turn over the first card of each pile.” She ordered, and Kihyun did just so.

As the cards of the deck belonged to the Major Arcana, Kihyun observed as the cards represented his past, his present and his future, and waited for the woman to read them out for him.

“The first card, representing your past, is The Tower.” She began. “It represents sudden change, upheaval and chaos. Something in your past happened that changed everything you once knew, and that sent you on a long journey that put upside down your life.”

“The second card, which represents your present, is The Sun. It means positivity, warmth, vitality, love. There’s something – or someone – in your life right now that brings light to the dark that set upon you during your past, and that is helping you reach your goal without letting you dive into the darkest sides.”

“Last one but not least, the future comes represented by The World. It means completion, accomplishment and travel. Your journey will be successfully completed if you don’t lose hope and – most importantly – if you don’t lose your sun.”

Kihyun only then realized he had been holding his breath and could breathe again when the witch’s eyes stopped being as red as blood and everything felt silent, her words no longer enchanting them. All the time she had been talking it felt as if he had been floating around the space, with a faint voice reading aloud his destiny for him, but he hadn’t felt physically there.

Slowly, he came back to his senses, feeling the tight pressure of Minhyuk’s hand holding his still after they had entered. He appeared to be worried as he looked at him.

“Do you want to get them read too?” he asked, but Minhyuk shook his head vehemently. The lady didn’t seem displeased and she waited for Kihyun to pay before she spoke again.

“You’ve got really brilliant cards.” She said, storing the money somewhere in her dress. “But don’t lose your north. The cards are indicative and not definitive – destiny is tricky and capricious, and whatever will happen is bound to you in the end.”

Kihyun nodded, thanking her as they left the place. He noticed Minhyuk was trembling still between his hand.

“Are you scared?” He asked, worried out of sudden. He looked paler than before.

“Am not.” He tried to laugh it off. “I just – don’t really like knowing about my destiny, or anyone’s destiny to begin with. It’s scary and, as she said, it can be quite tricky.”

“Sorry for dragging you inside.” Kihyun apologized, but Minhyuk told him there was nothing to worry about. He still did, nevertheless. “The cards were good, though. I feel a little more hopeful about this trip, and your drink lifted up my mood too.”

That seemed to make Minhyuk happy, and the smiled he offered him was just as bright as the sun itself.

“Should we go back to our carriage and get into the next region? It will take us sometime.”

“Let’s go.” Kihyun smiled back. “I’ll drive this time.”

Kihyun didn’t feel so sure of himself when the power of the beverage started dying down and he realized it was getting darker outside and he was the one driving, without any knowledge about it at all. He was thankful the carriage seemed to work just fine (at least for now) and that the magic did its wonders too, otherwise they would have already crashed against the nearest tree.

Behind his back, Minhyuk had nodded off, the sound of his snores filling up the small place and making Kihyun feel all type of envious, as he was getting rather sleepy too.

When they had crossed half of the city (they had to be thankful those magic carriages moved certainly _fast_) and were closer towards the border rather than being at the centre of the Capital, Kihyun parked the carriage somewhere in the middle of the road and turned around to wake Minhyuk up from his slumber.

“Mr. Lee.” He said, shaking his shoulders lightly. Although he seemed to be a heavy sleeper, Minhyuk opened his eyes right away, unevenly blinking a couple of times before he focused his attention on Kihyun.

“Mmm?”

“It’s late and I’m getting sleepy too. If you don’t feel rested enough to drive again we should go somewhere to sleep.”

Instead of replying, Minhyuk pulled out his crumbled map out of his bag. It showed exactly the route Kihyun had been following using the city directions, which meant they were in the good way. After he murmured some words, the lights changed and tiny purple spots appeared scattered all over it once again, showcasing the places where they could sleep at.

“There are a lot.” Kihyun whispered.

“And we can surely find something better and safer here.” Minhyuk added, yawning. His jaw cracked so loud that Kihyun was scared he had broken it.

The chilli breeze welcomed them when they got out of the carriage, making Kihyun shiver as he had only been wearing a thin satin blouse, and he opened the doors again only to grab the coat that was inside his backpack. Minhyuk did too.

“There’s one around the corner. Should we take a look?”

Kihyun agreed with a faint nod of his head and he followed Minhyuk after putting on his coat, almost trotting to get on his level. There were firefly-lampposts all over the streets and people that went out for dinner or that just went out for a walk, which felt safer than the last time at the suburbs. Kihyun was relieved he didn’t have to be scared for his life every few seconds.

They were welcomed by a hotel that stood high in the sky, so tall that Kihyun almost broke his neck trying to get a full sight of the building. And it wasn’t because he was rather on the smaller size, because Minhyuk had to bend his neck too.

“This looks quite expensive.” Kihyun muttered. If they were going to push the boat out right at the beginning, they wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep at a rather decent place in the next few days.

“A single room for one night shouldn’t be that much.” Minhyuk bribed him, too obvious that he was still drowsy and didn’t want to walk further. “Plus, we are two to pay.”

Grunting as an answer, Kihyun followed him inside the golden-coloured hall, with spider lamps and embroided carpets that made him feel like a prince.

Minhyuk did all the talking, which ended in them renting a room for one night that was, Kihyun had to admit, average priced, and much to his comfort and inner peace, they shared a room but there were _two_ beds.

“Finally I can sleep tonight.” Minhyuk complained, slumping dead on the mattress right after entering. “You’re a whole heater, man, it’s impossible to sleep next to you.”

“Well, Mister I-regulate-my-temperature-just-fine, it’s not my fault. I get warmer when I’m asleep.” Kihyun pouted, trying to defend himself from the evil claws that were Lee Minhyuk.

“Whatever you say.” He dismissed him with a gesture of his hand, taking off his clothes to slide into more comfortable ones.

Kihyun, although self-conscious, did the same. He could have done it in the toilet, really, but he didn’t want to be less than Minhyuk, and much less show he was slightly embarrassed to change in front of him. He wasn’t ashamed of his body at all; in fact, he was very much proud of his small accomplishments over these years, but he felt naked under Minhyuk’s burning gaze and he wasn’t sure how to feel about _that_.

“I’ll shower tomorrow, I’m too tired to do it now.” Kihyun decided to say something to stop overthinking like a teenager.

“Me too.” Minhyuk agreed, his voice already sleepy, which made Kihyun unconsciously smile. “Goodnight, Kihyun.”

Kihyun realized it was the first time he was addressing him by his real name and not as ‘’Dr. Yoo.”

“Goodnight, Minhyuk.” He did just the same before he tucked himself in bed and closed his eyes.

**

Kihyun grabbed tightly the fabric of the steering wheel of their carriage as he drove into the next region, fuming and completely ignoring the presence of the man next to him, that kept trying to catch his attention in order to ease his wrath.

It was to no avail, though.

Thing is, Kihyun had woken up early, unpacked his backpack just to pack again to make sure everything was neatly folded and well stored inside, and then he headed to take a shower. However, Minhyuk woke up just at the same time as he crossed the door and demanded he wanted to take the shower first. Kihyun had refused, of course, he was already inside the bathroom and he had been up since way earlier; waiting a few minutes wouldn’t hurt him.

It seemed, though, as if Minhyuk woke up with the need to annoy the heck out of him that morning, because he stated that if Kihyun showered first and he had to wait, he would just get inside and shower with him.

Because he knew that his threat was true – and because it was _Minhyuk_ – Kihyun had to give up on his early morning shower in order to let the other man take it first, only because there was no way he would get in the shower with him. He was ready to throw a tantrum and fight, but that was off his limits. There were many things yet unsure about how he felt towards Minhyuk and taking a shower together wouldn’t certainly help him clear them out, so instead he just went down to buy himself some breakfast (just for himself, Minhyuk could go choke) and waited.

But now they were both back in the carriage and Minhyuk was just as splendid as ever, smiling brightly as he knew Kihyun was annoyed because he was a little shit.

“C’mon, Kihyun.” He insisted again, poking his arm. “You can’t possibly be angry at me over such a petty matter.”

“Next time I hope you choke and drown in the bathtub.” Kihyun hissed, not amused at all. His ego had been wounded and all because he didn’t have the courage to face Minhyuk naked in the shower.

“Wow.” Minhyuk clutched his heart. “What happened to the wisdom words of Wicca?”

“They say harm no one. I’m not harming you, just wishing for it.”

That only seemed to amuse Minhyuk even more.

“Kinky.”

Kihyun almost slammed on the breaks right then.

“_Excuse me_?” He asked, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. He knew his cheeks and the tip of his ears had turned red from how annoyed he was. Did Minhyuk really have to be such a pain in the ass sometimes, or did he just find it amusing to see him getting all worked up?

“Nothing.” Minhyuk went back to his seat, pretending to file his nails as if nothing had happened. He muttered something Kihyun couldn’t hear well, but he was glad. He wasn’t sure how longer he could stand before he stopped the carriage and turned around to murder the man seating behind him.

The rest of the trip elapsed in silence, Kihyun could find some peace amongst the small space they shared, but Minhyuk seemed to be too focused watching the leaves falling and birds that passed by the window to care about him any longer. He didn’t need to look to know that he probably looked astonishingly pretty while doing so, because it was Minhyuk and he was just pretty even while breathing. Not that Kihyun had the dokis for him – he almost snorted at the mere thought – but he couldn’t deny the other man was attractive, because he wasn’t blind either.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t even realize they had entered the next region until he had the buildings and streets spreading in front of his two eyes, making him shift the wheel abruptly as he almost drove into some street stalls. (Mental note for himself: do not drive when you’re thinking about how pretty Minhyuk is.)

“What’s this place?” Minhyuk asked, half-frowning, half-surprised at the sight.

Although Kihyun had never been there before, considering the map and what he had read from countless of books back when he was younger, they had just entered Edrax – the Capital of the Wizards.

If Eshil had seemed luxurious and stunning, one could say Edrax was completely the opposite, and in a very odd way. Wizards had always been known for being complete snoobs that dwelled and bragged about their magic as if they were superior beings, in a very sketchy way. They wouldn’t tell you right away, but they would always let you know, whether it was because of their eccentric outfits and manners that outstood in every room, and not precisely in a good way; or whether it was because they had the power to create anything with their magic, no matter if good or bad, and they fed off from it. They were rich, extremely so, but they showed it in ways no one could ever imagine. You could enter the smallest of the house and find the hugest farm inside, with 20 horses and a one thousand hens (Kihyun talked from experience; his ex was a wizard and he had been just as bad).

“Bruh.” Minhyuk clicked his tongue, pulling out a disgruntled face. “This one doesn’t seem so nice.”

“Wizards are odd.” Kihyun replied, still carefully driving on the road. “If we don’t bother them, we should be okay.”

Even though not bothering them could mean many things, Kihyun was sure getting some food for lunch wasn’t implied, so he parked in the first spot he found once they were in the middle of the city and pulled Minhyuk’s ass out of the carriage, in hopes to find a cheap and decent restaurant that could feed them for the rest of the day.

“This doesn’t feel nearly as scary as the suburbs yet I don’t feel comfortable at all.” Minhyuk mumbled on their way to find somewhere to crash at and eat.

“Because they’re wizards.” Kihyun answered. “Wizards and witches have a long record of not getting along throughout history.”

“Because our magic is used for the better – to heal and help.” Minhyuk voiced out his thoughts a few minutes after Kihyun had spoken. “But they don’t. Their magic can both, create and destroy.”

“Exactly.” Kihyun nodded. “And that goes against Wicca.”

“I guess we’re the closest to alchemists in that. For them, they have to give something in order to get something back, but for a greater good.”

Kihyun shook his head.

“You seem to forget alchemists have been in war until a couple of years ago, and they’re still under the mandate of their Führer. They might need the equivalent exchange for their alchemy to happen, but they don’t use it for a greater good. Alchemists are selfish.”

“Mmm.” Minhyuk nodded, seeming to ponder deeper about what Kihyun was saying. Soon enough they’d drive to Ewal, and that was even more of a treacherous zone. Any movement in false could get them in big trouble.

“Let’s enter this place.” Kihyun, who had been both, talking and looking for a restaurant, gave up in the end and pushed Minhyuk into the first one he came across at in the street, silently praying that they would be still lucky and get decent food for decent prices.

It was, much to his surprise, a restaurant with traditional meals from every region known to their date, including their village. It took Kihyun a few seconds to realize that where they lived was considered the land of the shape-shifters and it made so much more sense then why there was a circus where they performed and why so many people from all around the world came to see them. He hadn’t seen many around and was sure the furthest they ventured into the dragons’ land, the less they’d find, so it was just right that their village was considered as that. Ieshos, land of the shape-shifters, and where two lost witches lived and tried their best every day to make it through, and among some other few wizards and common citizens, they all conformed the town where they lived at.

Feeling some type of homesick and nostalgic, Kihyun ordered the dish that belonged to his town, while Minhyuk felt curious – and even fancy – and ordered the Wizards’ menu, seeking to taste what the food where they were currently at tasted.

Even though it wasn’t _exactly_ the same as the one he could taste back at home, Kihyun had to admit they had done a great job with the dressings and the seasoning, similar enough to their town most typical food and making Kihyun’s stomach growl with pleasure.

Minhyuk, on the other hand, was unsure about his life decisions when his dish arrived, something that looked like barely cooked octopus and with some sauce that was literally boiling was placed in front of him, and he had to swallow hard before he sank his teeth on it.

Honestly, Kihyun had expected him to gag and rush to the toilet to puke, but instead Minhyuk started crying because it was both, too hot and too spicy and his taste buds were quite literally on fire. It only got worse (read: funnier for Kihyun) when the octopus started moving its legs on his dish and Minhyuk’s tears only flooded faster down his cheeks as he forced himself to keep the living, munched octopus still inside his stomach.

Kihyun had given up in keeping his composure a while ago and now was just bursting with laughs, holding his tummy because it was starting to hurt. That was karma to Minhyuk for having being such a brat to him earlier in the day.

However, what wasn’t good for any of them was being kicked out of the restaurant for ‘’being too loud’’ and ‘’disturbing the peace’’ and they were made to pay more than the original bill as a penalty fee.

Kihyun’s laughter died in his throat but it came back right after the door closed behind them, embarrassed to the very same core, but this time Minhyuk followed along. It was almost comical how ridiculous the situation had been.

“Fucking snoobs.” Minhyuk cursed, out loud, and Kihyun smacked his shoulder as if to scold him, even though he was still laughing, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.

“Shhh.” He said. “Don’t curse, it’s bad.”

But he was right and he hoped those wizards choked on their living octopus at nights. At least he got a full stomach, but since Minhyuk had barely eaten in the end they decided to drop by the nearest market and buy some prepared food that he could eat without dying in the way.

Only an hour later, Minhyuk walked happily along the weirdly shaped streets with a full stomach after they spotted a street stall that sold noodles (and Kihyun had gotten some more for himself too, if we were to be honest) and they wandered around in hopes to see something interesting to do to rest a bit before they returned to the road.

Something interesting turned out to be, in the end, an understatement when it came to Edrax and wizards, because the conception could hold different meanings that they might or might not share.

They spent more than an hour walking around the main streets, but all they found were either clothing shops, book stores or restaurants, and no one of them seemed appealing enough for them to enter, so they decided to give up and go on with their tripe, settling for driving some time more before finding somewhere to sleep that night.

However, it happened that before they even crossed the road that would lead them to where they had parked their carriage, Minhyuk had a change of heart, and he absent-mindedly grabbed Kihyun’s hand – tightly between his – and ran to the opposite directions without any further explanations. Kihyun didn’t have it in him to come up with any complaints when his heart was beating fast inside his chest because of the way Minhyuk’s fingers felt intertwined with his, although aloud he would blame it entirely on the fact that they were running.

“What got into you?” Kihyun asked once the other man stopped, trying to catch his breath but not letting go of him – not just yet.

“I thought we could do something before.” Minhyuk shrugged, that being his only explanation as he took Kihyun inside a really tall building with a set of wide stairs at its door, which were quite uncomfortable to climb, at least for him.

Kihyun wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but he certainly wasn’t expecting to be dragged inside a shopping mall.

“What are we supposed to do here?”

“I’ve always wanted to try Wizards’ clothes.” Minhyuk answered, solemnly. It was obvious he was trying hard to hold back his laughter. “They’re funny.”

“You’re crazy.” Kihyun muttered, but followed him further inside, towards the men’s clothing side.

Minhyuk was right in one thing – wizards’ clothes were funny at the very least. They were colourful but extremely so, to the point they were even freaky. Kihyun silently watched as the other witch tried all different type of hats on him, some so ridiculous that he couldn’t keep the chuckle inside and laughed at him. All of this turned, in the end, in him joining Minhyuk with the search of the wackiest piece of clothing.

Under the scrutiny of many displeased wizards that passed by them, Minhyuk was inside one of the fitting rooms trying on different pants and t-shirts while Kihyun was outside, waiting for the show and laughing at Minhyuk’s antics. It was almost preposterous how at ease he felt around the other man and how it was so easy for him to make him laugh and feel comfortable, except for the times that he behaved like a spoiled brat and Kihyun wanted to strangle him with his own bare hands.

He was a good kid and that was haunting him.

“You should totally try this one.” Minhyuk pointed at a pair of really baggy and fluorescent pink pants that could hurt anyone’s eyesight.

Kihyun shook his head, amused.

“You try them.”

“They’ll look gorgeous on you, though.” Minhyuk teased, but Kihyun remained still, and when Minhyuk pulled his hand towards the fitting room, he almost tripped and fell on him, making him stumble and hit the mirror behind while he was trying to hold him between his arms.

Kihyun gasped when he realized how close he was to the other man, pressed against his body and the mirror and feeling his breath on his neck, with his arms still around his waist, tightly secured.

When he looked up, Kihyun’s eyes went from his lips to his eyes, then back to his lips again, and he could swear Minhyuk gulped, _hard_.

He moved closer (or was it Minhyuk?), so close that he could already feel the taste of his lips on him, but they were abruptly interrupted by the shop assistant, who cleared her throat so loud Kihyun flew to the other side of the fitting room in a heartbeat.

She didn’t look please at all thinking they were about to make out in their fitting room and that they were trying at least a hundred clothes to make fun of them. In any other situation, Kihyun would have apologized for hours had he had to and he would have picked up the clothes and placed each one of them in their previous position, but he was so worked up with the realization that he and Minhyuk _almost_ kissed that the only thing that crossed his mind was murmuring an apology and leaving so fast that it felt like he was teleporting outside.

The cool breeze that welcomed him wasn’t enough to calm down the storm taking up place inside of him and he didn’t even wait for Minhyuk, going back to the carriage in just a matter of seconds. When he entered and looked back, there was no sight of the other man still behind him, so he seized the opportunity to finally breathe out, which ended in him almost hitting his head several times against the steering wheel in embarrassment and regret.

What had he been thinking about?

Kissing Minhyuk?

Was he sick? Did he hit his head sometime during their travel? Was it something he ate?

But no, Goddess, everytime he closed his eyes he could see Minhyuk’s parted lips right in front of him, his heart thumping under his palm and his eyes half-lidded, as if he was waiting for Kihyun to close the distance between them.

And fuck, had Kihyun wanted to.

The sound of the back door opening startled him so hard that he almost hit his head with the roof of the car, jumping in his seat. He couldn’t turn around and face the man sitting behind, but he reached out something for him and Kihyun looked down to see he had bought two bottles of sparkling water and was offering him one.

“I was thirsty so I bought these.” Minhyuk’s voice was serene and steady, as if nothing had happened.

Kihyun uttered a whispered thank you and opened the fizzy water to drink some, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat that made him feel like an idiot.

“Should we get going?” Minhyuk asked before a really uncomfortable silence settled between them, and Kihyun nodded.

He needed to drive to have something he could focus on and stop thinking about Minhyuk’s lips.

That was, of course, until they stopped to find a place they could spend the night at. Kihyun’s mind was racing and the thought of sharing a bedroom with Minhyuk was wrecking his nerves, a tight knot tied his stomach and made him feel as if he was about to pass out, his fingers trembling. How was he even supposed to face him after _that_? What if it happened again but this time they did kiss? What if he liked it?

Kihyun followed Minhyuk silently into the hostel he chose that day to sleep at, but as soon as the receptionist greeted them and asked for their information, Kihyun demanded for either a single room for each one or a bedroom with two separated beds.

However, since single rooms were too expensive and out of their budget, Kihyun settled in the end for the room with two separated beds, making sure at least twice that they were, _indeed_, separated, and earning himself odd looks from both, the man behind the counter and Minhyuk.

“You are the one that sweats like a pig at nights, I should be asking for those separated beds instead.” Minhyuk didn’t seem amused by Kihyun’s insistence, but he wasn’t harsh about it either. He just sounded, somewhat, dismayed.

“I appreciate my personal space.” Kihyun gave a poor excuse. “Didn’t mean it because of you.”

“Yeah, of course.” Minhyuk wasn’t buying it, but he didn’t press any further. Instead, he sat down on his bed after he took off his shoes, socks and clothes and turned on his side, giving his back to Kihyun as he tried to fall asleep. “Goodnight.”

Kihyun sighed heavily as he took off his socks as well.

Was he too much of an idiot?

“Goodnight.” He whispered back.

When Kihyun woke up the next morning to the very first rays of sunlight, Minhyuk wasn’t in his bed anymore and his backpack was gone too.

Kihyun couldn’t get rid of the strange feeling in his stomach even while showering and it didn’t disappear until he reached the carriage and saw Minhyuk inside, totally asleep in the backseat, with his mouth parted and drooling.

He had been so worried Minhyuk had given up on their mission and left.

As quietly as he was able to, Kihyun opened the driver’s door, started the carriage and drove into Ewal without waking Minhyuk up, although he checked up on him from time to time just to make sure he was alright.

**

Entering Ewal was much more of a hassle that Kihyun had thought of. It all started with the road signs being so misleading and unclear that he almost crashed around four times against other carriages, he almost drove into a different town, and he was asked for his license and ID at the entrance.

Kihyun could give his ID – which he did, along with his physician documents to show he was a proper and respectable citizen, but he couldn’t provide with a driving license, and neither could Minhyuk, which ended in them both being sued a penalty fee and his carriage getting retired. No matter how many times he asked and begged for them to let them keep it, the alchemists took it away and only then let them enter their city.

He was outraged, that carriage had worked just fine their entire trip and saved them so much time, but now they had to walk through the rest of their journey and time was ticking off.

Minhyuk tried to reassure him even when he was just as annoyed.

“At least this is our last city before we enter Asharia.” He had said, pointing at the huge mountains that rose in the horizon behind the big buildings from Ewal.

He had a point, Kihyun knew, but he was tired, confused and hungry and it all just kept piling up inside of him to the point where he just wanted to curl up in bed and cry.

“Hey.” Minhyuk noticed the distress in him when Kihyun didn’t reply. His hand landed on his back, tracing circles in slow motion over the clothes. “It’s gonna be okay. The carriage saved us so much time, we still have many days ahead and we are going to make it on time. Wonhee will live.”

Kihyun breathed in deeply but shakily, and he nodded to Minhyuk and to himself. It _had_ to be okay.

Ewal was just like how books described it – hexagon-shaped, square, dull. Every building looked like the previous one and everyone in the city wore a blue uniform with a pentagon star on their chest that had nothing to do with the one they drew for their Wicca.

Kihyun felt almost uncomfortable looking at the city because there was no life to it. Everyone moved and talked as if they were in the military and no one smiled or made a joke and the sun seemed to never shine over them.

Upon realizing that, Kihyun took a step closer to Minhyuk.

“This is depressing.” He whispered, so low that only he could hear him, scared they’d be put in jail at any second. Some alchemists that walked past them gave them odd looks, probably because of the lines in their faces that revealed they were witches, hence they were in foreigner territory and alchemists weren’t very welcoming.

There was a man, handsome with really long hair and wearing bright white gloves that walked outside a store close to them and, much to their surprise, he put a cigarette between his lips, snapped his fingers and a flame blossomed from them, instantly lightning up the cig. Squinting, Kihyun noticed the transmutation circle drawn on both of the gloves, the reason behind why he could practise the alchemy with a literal snap of his fingers.

“Holy-” Minhyuk voiced out Kihyun’s thoughts and they both stared as the man walked away as he smoked his cigarette, disappearing into the distance.

“Show-off.” Kihyun wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of those spoiled alchemists and their superiority complex.

Minhyuk scoffed by his side, somehow more amused than he should be by Kihyun’s annoyance.

As they didn’t have their carriage anymore, they needed to buy more supplies now, even more because Asharia – the land of dragons – was awaiting for them right behind the mountains, and there was probably no way they could buy food or drinks in there, which meant they had to get everything they needed for the rest trip now and fill up their backpacks. The only good thing on their side was that since they would need around three days to cross the whole town, they could get most of the supplies at the end and not carry extremely heavy bags with them all the time.

“I feel like we could get murdered at any second.” Minhyuk was on alert, looking around with his pretty eyes as big as they could go and his witch senses were tickling, as if prepared to fight back any attack.

“Don’t let them intimidate you like that.” Kihyun pretended he wasn’t just the same, but Minhyuk read through him too easily, snorting at him on their way to find a place where they could spend the night at and somewhere cheap to have supper.

Minhyuk seemed to remember something on their way to the nearest hostel their map showed, because he made a surprised sound and turned around to look at Kihyun with really bright eyes.

“I totally had forgotten about this,” He said, almost fidgeting. “But I read about an alchemy museum here in Ewal a couple of years ago, and it seemed pretty interesting. Can we go?”

Kihyun found it almost endearing how excited Minhyuk looked over a simple museum and he definitely didn’t have it in him to say no, even when he usually found museums rather boring.

“Sure. Is it far from here?”

Minhyuk looked at his map and the purplish spots vanished, giving way to a bright, red spot that appeared a few streets away from their current location.

“Not at all.” He was beaming. “Let’s go tomorrow, Ki!”

Kihyun was taken aback by the sudden shortening of his name, something only his closest friends did, but he didn’t feel bothered by it. It felt just right coming from Minhyuk’s lips – they had only gotten closer during the arduous journey they were sharing. He wondered if he could call him Min, too.

“We should drop off these backpacks now and get something to eat for now.” Kihyun almost had to push Minhyuk forward so they could start walking again. “We can go first thing in the morning tomorrow, we’re not straying away.”

“Thank you.” Minhyuk was shy when he smiled at him and it did things to him that Kihyun didn’t know how or where to place at.

Getting a room at the hostel they chose was almost as much of a hassle as it had been to enter the city; it seemed as if alchemists were keen on making every foreigner suffer, or maybe they just hated witches (but Kihyun was sure they were just this apathetic to everyone else.)

Because they were witches and had a penalty fee on their record, they were charged more than the original price for the room they asked, and Kihyun realized – with a heavy heart – that if they wanted to have dinner that night and get more supplies for the rest of the journey, they couldn’t rent that room.

“The only other option is a single room with one bed.” The lady, with dark purple lipstick and eyelashes so long they touched her eyebrows, was looking at them from above her glasses with disdain.

Kihyun wanted to smack his head against the counter. He’s always done what was Right, saved a stray cat from the streets, never hurt anyone and even helped people daily, why was the world so much against him?

“We’ll be taking that, then.” It was Minhyuk who replied, aware of the mental breakdown Kihyun was going through.

They didn’t talk about that time at all since it happened, but it was obvious the tension was still there.

Finding a place to eat was, to Kihyun’s surprise, the easiest thing to do since they had arrived at the land of the alchemists, because they found a cheap street restaurant right around the corner and it wasn’t crowded at all.

Sitting on a stool that made his legs hang because his feet didn’t reach the floor (while Minhyuk’s did), they ordered their most popular dish, too tired to think of anything else, and something that resembled to beer. Kihyun didn’t trust much foreigner beverages, but this one tasted sweet rather than bitter and didn’t make him feel like he could bungee jump after the first two sips.

However, it did after the fourth one he ordered, to Minhyuk’s disbelief, but the food was too spicy and he _needed_ to drink, the sweet taste of the strawberry beer they had ordered being the only thing that could placate his taste buds. In exchange, his cheeks were tainted pink, he was sweating and he felt both, giggly and giddy.

“You’re cute like this.” Minhyuk teased him, amused to the core, and he ordered the bill to pay before he helped Kihyun get off the stool and walk back home.

The street lampposts (alchemists didn’t use fireflies as their lampposts and that saddened him deeply) were just turned on as they walked down the street, the light still so dim that one could see the starry sky spreading above their heads, so pretty that Kihyun thought it could almost compete with Minhyuk.

When he looked down from the sky, their eyes met, and Kihyun blamed it on the drinks for the way he felt. He almost hated the witch that was standing in front of him – with his bright, red hair and the glitter on his face that Kihyun wanted to touch, with his uneven blink and his pretty, pretty smile – he _almost_ hated him for the way he made him feel.

“Stop looking at me like that.” Minhyuk whispered once they entered the hostel and Kihyun was still only looking at him.

“Like what?”

“Like you want to kiss me.”

Kihyun opened his mouth to reply, but he closed it right away. Minhyuk was _right_, he wanted to kiss him, but he was too shy and felt too embarrassed to.

“You’re so full of yourself.” Kihyun lied, but his tone wasn’t harsh.

Minhyuk frowned.

“Am I, though?”

_No, you’re not_.

“Yeah.” He looked away. “Sorry, I’m really tired, I think I’ll head to sleep. Today’s been a long day.”

Minhyuk took a step back, then he shook his head and sighed. Kihyun still didn’t look up to meet his eyes.

“You can go to sleep.” Minhyuk said, in the end. “I’ll go take a shower.”

“At this hour?” Kihyun asked. He only ever showed in the mornings.

With a nod for an answer, Minhyuk grabbed clean clothes from his backpack and disappeared inside the bathroom that was outside of their bedroom.

Kihyun slumped on the mattress, hands on his face as he let out a muffled yell. Why did everything had to be so complicated?

As he heard the sound of the water running at the room right next to theirs, Kihyun undressed and got inside the bed, only being able to finally fall asleep when Minhyuk got inside too, sleeping next to him.

Minhyuk didn’t talk to him the entire way to the museum the next day, neither did he talk to him when they stopped by a local bakery before entering the building to get some breakfast so they could keep up with energy for the rest of the morning, and he didn’t talk when they entered the place and started walking around the museum’s aisles.

Kihyun _knew_ why he wasn’t talking to him, but admitting that out loud was something he was not ready to do yet, so he kept it all bottled up inside instead and munched his bread in silence as Minhyuk read every cartel that explained every thing they museum had for exhibition.

It was surprisingly empty, maybe because it was still too early in the morning for people to want to come to a museum, but after half an hour wandering through different aisles, they had only encountered around five people and one was the security guard.

When Minhyuk still didn’t talk to him even when Kihyun tried to start a conversation every so often about whatever thing crossed his mind, he decided to give up in the end and admit his defeat. He couldn’t live on like this any longer, it was eating him alive.

“Okay, you were right.” Kihyun admitted, his voice echoing loud through the empty room. Minhyuk, who was reading a long cartel about transmutation circles, tilted his head to the side as a sign that he was listening. “I _did_ want to kiss you. You weren’t being full of yourself.”

Minhyuk kept quiet as he heard what he had to say, but he turned around to fully look at him.

“I just didn’t want to kiss you while I was tipsy.” The hugest sigh followed his words. “Now, can we please talk about all this alchemist shit we have in front of us, because I feel like running all the way back to Ieshos right now.”

Minhyuk smiled lightly as he nodded, obviously pleased with Kihyun’s answer. He knew Minhyuk hated being told he was a liar when it was pretty much obvious he wasn’t, so admitting it out loud was the only solution to finally put an end to this.

“I read there’s a whole aisle about human transmutation close to here.” Minhyuk pondered as he looked at a map that was in front of them, trying to figure out the way to it. “I’m honestly quite curious about it.”

Kihyun just wanted to dig a hole and cave his own grave, but instead he nodded to whatever Minhyuk was saying, swallowed down his embarrassment and followed him blindly, not even paying the slightest attention to whatever the museum was about. At least they weren’t in school and would get graded after it.

Before they could even find the right aisle about the human transmutation, loud screams and noises could be heard from the one right next to them, something that sounded like glasses breaking, people screaming and what sounded like –

“Are those _gunshots_?” Minhyuk whispered, ten shades paler as he took a step back.

Kihyun heard them, too. Loud and clear, there were gunshots in the aisle right next to them and the only thing that crossed his mind was to grab Minhyuk’s hand and run; run until they entered an area that was closed for the public, completely dark and the entrance secured by a red velvet cord that meant no one could cross. He did, though, pulling Minhyuk inside as well, and they hid behind one of the pillars that were in the middle, hoping and praying that whatever was happening wouldn’t reach them.

With his eyes closed, heart racing so loud his ears were ringing and his hand shaking while still holding Minhyuk’s, another set of gunshots could be heard in the distance, followed by more screams and noises he couldn’t discern any longer.

Minhyuk pressed closer towards his body, as if that were to protect them from the chaos.

Kihyun opened his eyes to meet Minhyuk’s face right in front of him. Even though it was as dark as the night, his witch eyesight allowed him to discern silhouettes and shadows, just like a cat would do.

With his fingers trembling and gathering all the courage he never had, he put both hands on Minhyuk’s cheeks, caressed the so longed for glittery lines right under his eyes and closed the distance between them.

At first, Minhyuk froze under his touch, becoming so rigid that Kihyun got scared he would reject him, but it only lasted for a brief second before he pressed him against the pillar and kissed him back, their lips finding their way to each other so easily that it was almost scary, as if they had always meant to be.

When the kiss broke before it could escalate into something else in a very inappropriate place, Minhyuk pressed his forehead against Kihyun’s, their lips still touching and both panting heavily.

“You didn’t want to kiss me while being tipsy, but you kiss me now?” He asked, amused. His fingers brushed Kihyun’s hair behind his ear.

“I got scared.” Kihyun was having a hard time speaking with Minhyuk’s lips still touching his; the need to kiss him again was too strong. “I thought we could die and we still hadn’t kissed and I just really wanted to do it before we die and-”

Minhyuk kissed the words off his mouth, so softly that Kihyun’s heart almost exploded behind his ribcage.

Minutes had passed while they were still glued to each other, only breaking the kiss to catch their breaths before one gave up and started it again, and by the time they became aware of their surroundings again, everything was silent in the museum, so silent that it felt unsettling.

“I think we should get out and return to our journey.” Kihyun whispered. “Everyone seems to have left.”

“I wonder what happened.” Minhyuk asked, to no one, because he was just like him. “Be careful.”

With slow, quiet steps – almost tiptoeing, both headed outside of the dark alley, venturing again into the museum, but everything was just as empty as before, with no signals near of the previous gunshot.

However, they had to cross the part where they had heard the noises coming from, so they had to be extra careful and make sure no one was around willing to shoot a bullet right through their foreheads.

With fingers intertwined, Kihyun walked before Minhyuk, hiding behind the corners to check if they were safe to keep walking.

They were interrupted when they were, almost, at the front door.

“Look at what we’ve got here.” Someone said, Kihyun only had the time to turn around to see two men in blue uniforms before they were both knocked to the floor, handcuffed and gagged.

“General Chae will love these.” The other man said, the one that was holding Minhyuk, and they were both pushed inside a car and driven into the soldiers’ headquarters.

**

When Kihyun’s vision cleared again, he had to blink a few times to get used to the new light, taking them a few seconds to realize where they were: inside the headquarters of the capital, his hands tied behind a chair and there were three men in uniform standing in front of he and Minhyuk, not looking pleased at all. He couldn’t recognize any of them.

“Captain Chae said he’s on his way.” One of the men said, the one that was taller and whose hair was so short it gave the impression that he was balding.

“Meanwhile,” That was the one in the middle, an average-sized man who had a huge scar crossing his face in half. “Let’s see what they have to say. What were you doing in the museum?”

Minhyuk was the one to answer.

“What else can we do in a museum? We were visiting it.” He replied, in such a rhetoric tone that Kihyun feared for their lives.

“Don’t play games with me, kid.” The scarred man threatened. “There was a terrorist attempt inside, people were murdered and some relics were stolen.”

“We know nothing about that.” Minhyuk insisted. “We’re just passing by the city, we’re heading to Asharia. In our way there we decided to drop by the museum and visit it.”

The last man, one that had bright yellow hair and a perpetual grimace on his face, was the one to reply then.

“Doesn’t sound very convincing. You weren’t there when the assault happened and you tried to sneak out hours later?”

“We were _hiding_ from the assault.” It was Kihyun’s turn to reply. Those three were starting to get on his nerves with their never-ending questions and condescending tones. “We only went out after the noises stopped and we thought we could make it out alive.”

“Shouldn’t we have the relics with us if we had stolen them?” Minhyuk threw the question at them.

That seemed to take those half-of-a-braincell-men by surprise, and they exchanged glances to see if one could come with a better reply.

“You gave them to your minions and then left as a distraction.” The man with the really short hair was the one whose lightbulb seemed to lit up.

Minhyuk exhaled in dismay.

“We didn’t-”

The sound of the door opening interrupted him and their attention fell on the man that was now entering the room, someone that seemed quite familiar to the both of them.

It was the long-haired man they had seen the day before and who had lit up the cigarette with a snap of his fingers. He was wearing the same blue uniform and the bright, white gloves were still on his hands.

“Captain Chae.” The three men put their hands on their foreheads, backs completely straight as they military-greeted him.

“Those two are the ‘’succulent prey’’ you had mentioned earlier?” He asked, looking from Minhyuk to Kihyun back and forth a few times, scrutinizing them.

“Yes, Sir.” The scarred man replied, smiling proud of himself.

Captain Chae rolled his eyes so hard Kihyun feared they went to the back of his head and he clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Useless.” He wasn’t looking at them anymore, but at the three men that had captured them. “Those two witches have nothing to do with what happened today.”

“W-what?”

“But Sir- they’re _witches_ and-”

“I saw them yesterday when they entered the city. They were looking for an hostel to stay at and they’re using a magic map to travel to Asharia.” Captain Chae explained to them as if they were toddlers. “The terrorist is among our citizens and you’re losing your time with two foreigners that only happened to be at the museum.”

The three men kneeled to the floor in matter of seconds, bowing deeply to apologize to their Captain for their mistake. The Captain looked like he was on the verge of losing his sanity for having to deal with those three.

“Free them.” He said, pointing at them. “But you two, come to my office right after, there’s some matters I want to settle with you.”

Kihyun groaned in displeasure when his wrists were freed from the ropes that kept them tied, caressing the reddened and slightly wounded skin with his hands in an attempt to ease the stinging sensation over them. When he looked at Minhyuk, he was just the same.

With wobbly legs, they left the room where they had been kept captives and followed one of the men – the one with the yellow hair – into the Captain’s office, that was right at the end of an immense corridor.

“Knock on the door before you enter.” The man warned them, as if they were just two witches with no matters at all.

Kihyun felt the need to reply sharply at him, but Minhyuk held his hand and shook his head, telling him it wasn’t worth it with his eyes, making him relax into his touch and give up on the thought.

After knocking on the door a couple of times, they were received with a yell from the inside that resembled to the words ‘’come in!” so they did, leaving the yellow guy behind.

The Captain’s office was huge, with at least five shelves full of books, making it look as if they were inside a library instead, and there was a long, red carpet on the floor that led to the desk, behind which Captain Chae was sitting, reading some papers that were scattered over it.

He looked up when they entered and signalled for them to walk forward, closer to him.

“What are your names?” He asked, back to reading the papers.

“Yoo Kihyun.”

“Lee Minhyuk.”

He nodded, put all the papers together on one side and crossed his hands over the desk, his chin resting on them.

“I was reading your report about your arrival.” He confessed. “You both arrived yesterday at Ewal, rented a place to spend the night at, then this morning went to the museum on your way to Asharia. Is that correct?”

“It is.” Minhyuk confirmed it. “We have nothing to do with what happened today. Actually, we were both quite scared and we hid until we thought we were safe.”

Captain Chae hummed, seeming to agree with that Minhyuk was saying.

Kihyun remembered something then.

“Besides, we’re both witches. If we wanted to assault a museum, we definitely wouldn’t be using guns.” He pointed out.

“That’s correct, guns are only used in Ewal. And if you had acquired one, we would definitely know. That’s why I knew you weren’t responsible for the assault at the museum.”

Kihyun breathed out the air he didn’t know he had been holding all that time, finally reassured that they were going to be able to leave the city and proceed with their journey.

“The Führer is out of town for a few weeks, so I’m in charge now.” Captain Chae told them; Kihyun wasn’t sure what he could do with that information, but he appreciated it. “I’ll give you back your carriage that was taken away and leave the city as planned.”

Kihyun’s chest filled with anticipation.

“If,” Of course there was an if, he thought, fearing for what they were going to be asked. “You do me a favour. It’s a very personal one.”

Kihyun waited for him to keep talking, but when the Captain remained silent, he had to ask.

“Yes?”

“My daughter is sick.” He confessed, the dark circles under his eyes suddenly too visible for Kihyun. The Captain couldn’t be any older than them. “Every doctor from Ewal has checked up on her but they can’t find a diagnosis and she’s slowly dying…I know witches can work with Wicca and healing and I feel like this is the last chance given for my daughter.”

“Actually,” Kihyun smiled reassuringly at him. “I’m a physician back in my town. I’d be more than glad to check on your daughter and see if we can find what’s her ailment.”

“I can help too.” Minhyuk muttered, unsure about his abilities but willing to help in any way.

Captain Chae seemed on the verge of crying upon hearing those words, but he took a deep, shaky breath before he got up from his chair.

“We can head home now, then. It’s time to call it a day!”

The way to the Captain’s house was done in his own carriage (alchemists called them cars), with him driving and both Minhyuk and Kihyun sitting at the back seats, still too intimidated by the Captain’s presence to share more than a few words and still too embarrassed in front of each other because they hadn’t properly talked after their kiss.

Goddess, they had _kissed_.

Kihyun surely had a lot of thinking to do later that day.

Captain Chae lived in a modest apartment in a really big building rather at the outskirts of the city than the center; he alleged he preferred the calm to the busy life of the city and that he didn’t mind taking the car every day to work.

At his apartment there was him, his wife and his daughter; a tiny, 8 years old girl that stared in awe at Kihyun and the lines on his face when he approached her, bending his legs to be at her eye level and playfully poke her sides, trying to gain her trust. Soon enough, the kid was laughing and playing back with him, until she abruptly stopped and started coughing, so hard that she spat some blood over the sheets of the bed where she had been sitting.

Kihyun watched, in horror, as the little kid tried to wipe away the blood stains from her mouth, as if she was worried he would be scared and run away from her.

He petted her hair softly, reassuring, before he turned back to look at her father.

“How long has she been like this?” He asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

“Around 4 months.” Captain Chae replied. “No doctor has been able to diagnose her and give her a proper treatment since then…”

“Captain Chae, there’s a few things I might need to ask you for to be able to check up on her.” Kihyun said as he started undoing his backpack, that they had safely gotten back after the men who took them at the museum had left abandoned there.

“Please, just call me Hyungwon. That’s my real name.” Captain Chae said, rubbing his hands without the gloves. At his house like this, he looked more human than ever, even when he was an alchemist. “And sure, anything you need I’d be glad to provide.”

“I need to burn some eucalypt leaves. There’s a few in my bag.” He started. “After that, since I lack from an altar, I still need to lit up a candle with the Wicca pentagon in it, I need it for my magic to work.” To his words, Hyungwon only kept nodding, even when he had no idea as to what to do. “I will use my chakras to check each one of her organs to find what is going on in them. For that, I need much less light – a couple of candles will work – and complete silence.”

Minhyuk, who had been carefully listening to everything he was saying, had already pulled out the candles and eucalypt leaves from the backpack, handing the latter to Hyungwon so that he could look for something to burn them. He, on the other side, started drawing the Wicca pentagon on one of the candles, the one that Kihyun was going to use to work his magic.

“You look hot when you’re bossy like this.” Minhyuk whispered to his ear, teasingly, and he kissed his cheek, close to his lips. It made Kihyun’s cheeks turn a bright red that had Hyungwon asking if he was feeling sick when he returned to the room with the eucalypt leaves burning in a bowl on his hands.

Kihyun shook his head saying that no, that he didn’t feel sick, but that it was a bit hot inside the room and he felt momentarily suffocated, while sending death glances at Minhyuk, who was smiling proudly for his achievements.

Focusing on the important matter, Kihyun washed his hands with some lavender tea bags he had brought from his work place, using them as a quick purifier that wasn’t exactly the best nor what he usually used, but that did the job.

Once washed, he closed his eyes in front of the lit-up candle with the pentagon, inhaled deeply letting the eucalyptus fill his lungs and he whispered his spell, a prayer for the Three Goddesses to hear him loud and clear.

_“As below, so above,_

_I release all unseen blocks to health._

_As above, so below,_

_My healing hands allows health to flow.”_

He whispered the words three times, like a mantra, his own voice echoing in his ears as he became one with his surroundings and magic, feeling the familiar tickling traveling from his head to the tip of his toes, through each one of his cells.

The little girl was sitting on the bed, her skin exposed so that there would be no hindrances in between she and his magic, and he started for the first chakra, the Root one, right at the base of her spine. The light that emanated from his hands was a very bright shade of red as he chanted some words in ancient witchcrafting language, but there was nothing to be found around her spine, kidneys and neck.

The second chakra Kihyun focused on was the Solar Plexus, right above her navel. His hands turned as yellow as the sun under his magic, but her mesogastrium seemed just fine as well, leaving him almost out of breath from the exhaustion. He’s never worked on more than two chakras at the same time, and his vision was starting to get blurry, but he couldn’t give up on it now – he didn’t have more candles nor more eucalypt leaves with him, so he only had this chance to find out what was wrong inside of her.

The third chakra was the Throat Chakra, at the base of her throat, right over the thyroid, and his palms turned a light shade of blue as he focused on that area. Although he found, once again, nothing, there was a disturbance that he could feel from somewhere near, somewhere he couldn’t pinpoint with this one chakra, but that he was almost sure he would be able to with the next one if his hunch wasn’t wrong.

With the Heart Chakra, a mix of bright green and pink coloured the light skin of the little girl, who stared with big-doe eyes at the witch that was casting spells right over her, and Kihyun almost sighed in relief when he found the matter right below her trachea and inside her bronchi. It was an infection of the bronchioles that was eating her lungs from the inside, hence the blood and the difficulty breathing. It was almost impossible to point out unless you could see inside, which explained why no alchemist doctors had been able to find out what was happening to her.

When the light disappeared and the magic died down, Kihyun closed his eyes and felt limp to the floor, held in the last second by Minhyuk’s arms, who prevented him from hitting the floor in complete exhaustion. He could barely bring himself to stand up and talk, but there was one thing he had left to do before he could properly pass out.

“It’s a bronchitis.” He diagnosed her aloud for her father to know. “It’s an infection of her bronchi and, unless you can do what I’ve just done, it’s quite complicated to figure this out. For the treatment, she will need ginseng and mint – in huge quantities, you should add it in every meal she eats and have her drink ginseng and mint tea at least thrice a day; and use a turquoise stone, keep it close to her lungs, as a necklace would do. You can burn rosemary and juniper as a healing and recuperation incense as well, it will do just fine to her respiratory system.”

Hyungwon was writing down everything Kihyun was saying while vigorously nodding, but there were tears rolling down his face.

“Those should work just fine, the most important is for the turquoise stone to be kept close to her lungs so it can work its magic in the correct place.” He repeated, then he remembered something. “Captain Chae, I think it’s your lucky day.”

He pulled out from his backpack a turquoise he had bought back at Eshil; he had bought a few because those were scarce in his town and very hard to buy from the merchants, but they worked wonders when it came to lungs and blood circulation.

“Kihyun, thank you so much.” Hyungwon kneeled down on the floor next to him, holding his hand. “I will never be able to thank you enough for saving my daughter’s life. Thank you.” He was still crying, trying to wipe away the tears with the sleeve of his shirt (he wasn’t wearing the uniform at home) and Kihyun shook his hand, tried to open his mouth to tell him that it was nothing, that this was actually his job, but he passed out in Minhyuk’s arms before the words could leave his mouth.

**

“Is it time for us to talk about what happened at the museum?”

Kihyun almost choked on his own spit as he stared outside of the window while Minhyuk was driving.

“W-What museum.” Kihyun blurted out, coming out like a total idiot. Minhyuk chuckled at him.

“Where _you_ kissed me.” He punctuated each word very exaggeratedly, only fuelling Kihyun’s suffering. “Are we going to pretend as if it never happened?”

Kihyun was still staring outside, unable to look at the man sitting ahead of him, even if he was driving and there was no way their eyes would meet unless he parked.

“No.” Kihyun replied, after a few seconds. Running away from the things he did was never the solution and, for fuck’s sake, he wasn’t 15 anymore. He was a grown-up adult that could face his decisions, even if those included kissing Minhyuk in a prohibited area of a museum while a gunshot was taking place outside.

Damn, he was worse than he had thought of.

“And you kissed me back.” He defended himself, sulking in his seat.

After diagnosing Hyungwon’s daughter and giving her a treatment, Kihyun had passed out in Minhyuk’s arms, and he had only opened his eyes again the next morning, sleeping next to him in a spare room at the Captain’s house. Minhyuk told him Hyungwon had insisted in them spending the night over there, since it was late and he was, well, knocked out. Firs thing in the morning, though, they got back their carriage (still without a driving license, but at this point they were experts and the Captain was more than willing to overlook this little detail), they bought enough provisions for the rest of the journey and ventured into Asharia, a civilization of dragons hidden behind the mountains where Ewal vanished.

“_Of course_ I did.” Minhyuk sounded almost exasperated. “You’re really so dense.”

“What?” Kihyun frowned, this time looking at Minhyuk’s nape.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Kihyun opened his mouth to insist, but he knew once Minhyuk said no, he wouldn’t talk about it, no matter how much he pressed. And he didn’t want to force anything, much less force him to talk about anything that concerned their relationship.

A couple of hours later, Kihyun asked Minhyuk to stop the car and change seats, so that he could rest while he drove instead.

“I think we should spend the night in the carriage these days.” He suggested, hands steady on the steering wheel.

“I don’t think there’s enough space for the both of us to sleep here.” Minhyuk pointed out. He was right, barely one person fitted behind.

“Do you rather sleep out in the open? In the mountains?”

That seemed convincing enough for Minhyuk.

“Are you ready for long nights of cuddling?” He teased, wiggling his eyebrows. Kihyun was suffering already just at the mere thought – and it wasn’t because he had to sleep close to Minhyuk, but because he didn’t trust his own body and heart for when that happened.

“You don’t need to look so distressed, I swear it can’t be as bad as you’re thinking it will be.” Minhyuk deflated like a balloon at the lack of response, and the fact that he thought Kihyun didn’t want to be with him rather than he was scared of himself because of it, only saddened him.

“It’s not that.” Kihyun admitted, out loud. “It’s not you.”

“What is it, then? You?” Minhyuk joked, but his face changed when he realized he was right. “Kihyun…”

“Listen.” Kihyun wanted so bad to stop the carriage, climb on Minhyuk’s lap and kiss him until he was panting and out of breath, but his sense of responsibility weighted too heavy on his shoulders. He needed to drive until the sun set and they found a (preferably) safe spot for them to park for the night. “I promise you we can talk about this later. But now I need to focus on the road and I won’t be able if you keep talking about this and making me want to kiss you for days.”

That shut Minhyuk up entirely for the rest of the journey. Or at least it did until night dawned upon them and they had to park somewhere in between the forest. Wild animals weren’t a threat for them, because thanks to Wicca they were in connection with the nature and they could communicate with the animals, as long as they respected each other and never meant to harm. People, on the other side, were definitely a danger, and if some burglars decided to assault them, they were more than screwed. It was unlikely in Asharia, but it was still a possibility.

Minhyuk unwrapped one of the sandwiches they had bought earlier and shared half with Kihyun, who thanked him and grabbed the meal after stopping the carriage. He wondered how long it would last and if it had enough wizards’ magic in it to survive for a couple of days more, but considering their luck it would die on them the next morning.

The sandwich tasted too much like plastic for Kihyun’s liking, but nevertheless he still ate it (they weren’t in a position to be picky) and shared a can of strawberry beer between the two of them. Kihyun had war flashbacks to the time he drank four by himself and got tipsy.

“What’s wrong?” Minhyuk asked, out of sudden, startling him.

“Mmm?” He was confused.

“You were blankly staring at nothing. Was wondering if there is something wrong.”

“Oh.” Kihyun shook his head. “I was just thinking.”

“About?”

_Us_.

“We’ve come such a long way since we left Ieshos. Sometimes it feels like it was yesterday, meanwhile other times it feels like ages ago. It hasn’t been that long, but we have seen and gone through so much, and I-”

He closed his mouth_. I think I might like you a little bit more than planned_.

“You know, for someone who is a witch and a physician, who has a determination of steel and a very sharp tongue for those that you don’t like, you’re quite shy.”

“I don’t deal well with emotions.” He confessed. “I never really had time for them and…it’s scary.”

Minhyuk smiled softly at him.

“Might surprise you, but it’s scary for me too.” He confessed, reassuring Kihyun.

After putting their backpacks in the front seats to leave more room for the back ones so they could sleep and after making sure the doors were locked, they uncomfortably got rid of their clothes (read: Minhyuk did, Kihyun still used a t-shirt to sleep because being pressed skin on skin would send him to his deathbed) and they fumbled to try to find the best position so that they both fitted and could sleep.

That meant, in the end, Minhyuk’s head resting on his shoulder and with his left leg over his waist. Kihyun’s heart was beating so loud that it was impossible the other witch wasn’t aware of it, even less considering he was resting pressed against his skin.

“Ki.” Minhyuk whispered, his breath tickling his neck.

“Yes?”

“Are you asleep?”

He chuckled softly.

“Don’t you see I’m answering you.”

Minhyuk only hummed as a reply, but Kihyun could feel that he was trying to figure out what his next words would be.

“I was thinking about how you said the other day you wanted to kiss me, but that you didn’t want it to be while you were tipsy.”

Kihyun nodded softly. His heart could pierce through his ribcage at any moment.

“I really want to kiss you now.” Minhyuk finally confessed. “But I don’t want it to be one-sided.”

Kihyun fought the urge to snort in his face, because that would have come out as a rude, but it was almost comical he thought it would be one-sided considering how he was trembling like a flan just because they were just talking (although he excused himself that they were too close).

“It’s not-” Kihyun’s voice trembled and he had to repeat the words once again. “It’s _not_ one-sided.”

In the dark of the night, Kihyun thought Minhyuk was smiling at his answer, but all he could feel was the warmth of his body against his, the tenderness of his really big hands cupping his cheeks and the softness of his lips when they met.

Because they weren’t in a life-or-death situation anymore, they were able to take their time to explore each other, hands roaming over their naked skins and lips never leaving the other, making the kiss a little more deeper but not sloppy, even when Minhyuk parted his lips and welcomed Kihyun’s tongue inside, meeting his mid-way.

Kihyun gasped when Minhyuk slipped his hands inside his t-shirt, touching him just like he was touching him as well, his hands caressing the skin of his chest and tummy, all softness and warmth underneath his palms.

“Fuck.” Kihyun cursed, and even though he usually wouldn’t (because it was against his manners), he couldn’t bring himself to care when Minhyuk pinched his nipples, not hard enough to hurt him but enough to send goosebumps all over his skin.

“Yes?” Minhyuk asked, innocently. He was teasing Kihyun with his t-shirt, pretending to take it off but not actually doing it, seeing how much he could push him until he lost his patience and tossed it himself.

Kihyun almost cursed again when he was finally – almost – naked, his bare skin in touch with Minhyuk’s, so warm that it was almost burning.

“I’m hard.” Kihyun confessed the obvious, his clothed dick rubbing against Minhyuk’s thigh, but he could feel the other’s own dick pressed on his stomach.

“So am I.” To further prove his words, Minhyuk grinded against him, letting him feel just how hard he was. Kihyun could feel himself twitching and leaking inside his underwear.

“Can we -” He could only mutter, his brain unable to form a coherent sentence when Minhyuk’s lips were on his neck, peppering him with wet kisses that were going straight south. “Do you think we’re going too fast?”

“No.” Minhyuk shook his head. “As long as it’s something we both want.”

“_Ah_.” Kihyun gasped a little too loud when the other witch sank his teeth over his collarbone, lightly biting him. “Let’s -”

“Yeah. _Let’s_.” Minhyuk repeated, his fingers already teasing the hem of Kihyun’s underwear, until they were pooled around his ankles and Kihyun got rid of his too, grabbing a handful of his ass and playing with the soft flesh under his palms, forcing Minhyuk to bend lower so that they were touching.

“Fuck.” Now it was Minhyuk’s turn to curse when he felt Kihyun’s hard dick pressed against his.

With trembling fingers, both of them circled their dicks together, and while Minhyuk used his other hand to support himself on the window of the carriage, Kihyun used his to pull his hair and kiss him.

It felt so hot and thick that it was almost maddening, their members were throbbing and leaking more with each thrust into their hands, rubbing so good together that the sensation was overwhelming, keeping Kihyun out of breath and moaning into Minhyuk’s mouth everytime, swallowing down his own as well.

It didn’t take much for Kihyun to feel warm liquid spreading through his lower stomach and taking over each one of his senses, so fast and hard that he almost blacked out for a couple of seconds when he whispered into Minhyuk’s mouth that he was close and he came, spurting between their hands and feeling Minhyuk’s own cum mixing with his, dripping down to his body and the backseat.

Minhyuk fell exhausted on top of him, trying to catch his breath while Kihyun used the hand that wasn’t stained with cum to pet his hair, threading through the soft strands of red hair that he loved so much.

“We should clean up.” He suggested, a few minutes later when Minhyuk still wasn’t moving, but was instead leaving soft kisses all over his neck.

“I’m too lazy to move.” He groaned.

“Don’t be nasty.” Kihyun scolded him. “Once we clean up we can go back to cuddling. Albeit we should get some sleep, we still have to drive tomorrow.”

“So bossy.” Minhyuk sulked, but he still got up from Kihyun and searched for a tissue among their backpacks to clean themselves.

“I thought you found that hot?” Kihyun teased, letting Minhyuk hold his hand to clean him from the cum stains before he moved onto his stomach and the seats.

“I take back my words.” He lied, leaving the tissue on the floor of the carriage. They would have time to properly throw away the trash the next morning.

“You could take yourself back between my arms instead.”

Minhyuk chuckled, out loud.

“Smooth.”

But, within a second, he was already in Kihyun’s embrace again, making him feel the most secure and safe he’s ever been. Perhaps he would want to dig his own grave out of embarrassment the next morning when they woke up completely naked and with their limbs tangled, but for now Kihyun was completely curled up next to Minhyuk and he was happy.

He had been right, waking up naked and cuddling with Minhyuk had him blushing for a solid hour. He left the carriage without waking the other witch up and with whatever dignity he had left, dressing up outside and praying no one was around to look at his body.

Feeling frustrated with himself since very early in the morning, he decided that the best option to find some peace was finding a good place where he could meditate and communicate with the Triple Goddess. Even though he was always in touch through his magic and beliefs, it had been a while since he properly took the time to become one with his surroundings and put his mind at ease.

There was, down the rocky road where they had parked their carriage last night, a path that ventured inside the forest and that Kihyun followed, careful not to trip with the branches and rocks that were on the soil. He followed his instincts, the sound of the birds chirping and water running somewhere in the distance, and with a few more steps he found a river. It was small and narrow, but the sight was beautiful and Kihyun was sure he had found his right place.

With one of the branches that were disseminated all over that nook he’d found in the middle of nowhere, Kihyun drew a pentagram on the floor, big enough so that he could sit in the middle. When it was finished, he sat down, folding his legs close to his knees, and he closed his eyes.

During his days in Ieshos, Kihyun would usually focus on the Chakra meditation, using it to practise but also because it gave him the most insight to himself.

However, this time around, since he didn’t have his crystals with him and that took too much energy, he settled for just the basic Centring meditation.

Keeping his spine straight, he focused on his breathing, hand over his sternum as he took long and deep breathings through his nose, feeling his ribcage expanding to the maximum with each intake before he let out.

When his breathing was calmed and steady, Kihyun focused on releasing the tension that was accumulated over his shoulders, neck and back due to the events of the previous days. His muscles were so sore that he was surprised he hadn’t pulled any.

After the tension was relieved, he focused on filling his being with the positive energy that Wicca offered him. As if there was a baby blue light that materialised in front of him, he felt the energy entering through his feet all the way up to his head, then released it as he exhaled the air he was holding inside. He felt the magic tickling at the tip of his fingers right then.

Slowly, he started going back to the real world, not without first thanking the Triple Goddess for allowing him to be part of this life as a witch and for all the things he had been given. Once his thanks were over, he blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the light that surrounded him.

The river welcomed him back in the form of Minhyuk bathing in it, as naked as he was born into the world and with his luscious red hair stuck to his nape, making it seem as if there was blood dripping down his neck and face.

Kihyun didn’t move from his pentagram as he stared at the other man while he swam around and played with the fishes that travelled south.

When he looked back at Kihyun and saw he was no longer meditating, he smiled.

“Ki! Come bathe with me.” He screamed, his high-pitched voice loud even from the distance. “You need to see what I found here.”

With a newly found solace during the hard times, Kihyun left his safe space and took off his clothes to join Minhyuk in the river, leaving his undies on because he was convinced that way the water would feel less cold around his crotch.

“Do you shower with clothes on?” Minhyuk asked, already making fun of him since early in the morning. Kihyun didn’t have it in him just now to sulk.

“It’s freezing.” He replied, instead. “This is protecting my dick from the icy water.”

“It doesn’t work like that, Dr. Yoo.”

Kihyun was taken aback at the sudden usage of his formal addressing; it had been a while since Minhyuk called him by his name or the shortened version of it.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Lee.” He could play back just as much.

The water finished relieving the pressure where his meditation hadn’t been able to reach, his muscles feeling energised and refreshed with the cold, but also he felt clean and ready to take the last steps of what had been the journey of his life.

“Look here, Ki.” Minhyuk waited for Kihyun to join him at the other side of the shore. “I found river crabs.”

Kihyun leaned over his shoulders and peeked at the tiny creatures crawling across the rocks, hiding and camouflaging with their surroundings so that no predators would find them. When Minhyuk reached out to pet one of them, the creature closed its clamp a mere inch away from his finger, making Minhyuk jolt away in the span of a second, fearing for his life.

Kihyun couldn’t contain his laughter after his scared yell.

“You’re an idiot.” He faked to wipe away his tears. “Wild animals don’t like to be petted.”

“Too bad.” Minhyuk pouted, crossing his arms inside the water. It was so crystal clear that he could perfectly see his figure even inside. “They were cute.”

“That they were.” Kihyun agreed with him on that.

He let the current have his body floating around the calm waters, diving his face into it to wet his hair as well. It was the perfect spot to relax and pretend everything was alright.

When Minhyuk got out of the water, he wrapped his body around one of the two towels he had brought from their backpacks and waited for Kihyun while sitting on the shore, his feet dipped inside.

“Your lips are blue.” Kihyun pointed out, getting out of the water as well. He was drenched and some of the water fell on Minhyuk’s.

“I don’t deal well with the cold.” The other witch admitted, curling further inside his own towel to stop his shivering.

Kihyun sat next to him once he was wrapped as well, leaving a safety distance that Minhyuk totally closed, venturing to hold his hand between his and play with his fingers. He was still shy but thanked the other man for being brave enough for the both of them when it came to that.

“We should get going if we want to arrive on time.” Minhyuk let go of his hand and patted his thigh as he stood up. “We don’t have much time left and we don’t know exactly where to go. Asharia is hidden.”

He had a point. The weight of the situation dawned heavy on Kihyun’s shoulders once again, so strong that whatever meditation he had done before now seemed futile.

Their carriage was surprisingly warm inside, Minhyuk relished on that fact even though he was still wrapped around a blanket to warm up while Kihyun was the one to sit in the driver’s seat and start their journey again.

It wasn’t a long while after when they realized that, much to their dismay, it was quite impossible for them to go on with the trip using the carriage; there was no road and the floor was rocky and steep as they crossed mountain and forest. They both, saw it and felt it, because the carriage didn’t move the way it had done before, clearly not made for that type of pavement and probably running out of its wizard’s magic as well, since it had been a while.

With heavy hearts, they parked their beloved carriage that they had been through so much with at the side of the forest, right between two trees so that it wouldn’t bother anyone, and with the backpacks on their shoulders, they continued on foot.

They were lucky that it was rather difficult to find other people where they were, so they were most likely safe since animals wouldn’t attack at nights due to their connection with nature.

A couple of days later, after walking hours and hours without a rest except at nights and still with no trace of Asharia in sight, Kihyun was starting to give up, his body and mind exhausted. It always seemed that, when they were finally close to their goal, something got in the way. How had they even thought, to begin with, that they could travel to Asharia and find the dragons. It was an immense land that could take months to travel across and those creatures were hidden. It had been a condemned mission since the very beginning.

“We should be close.” Minhyuk was trying to be positive for the both of them. “The map says we’re near.”

“It’s been saying we are near for days.” Kihyun sounded harsh. “It’s useless.”

“You know it’s not.” He seemed personally offended at the sudden attack to his precious map. “It’s helped us a lot the past days.”

“Will it help us now, though?” He almost screamed, feeling the tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. He was so, so tired. He felt hopeless.

“Hey.” Minhyuk stopped walking, looking quite offended at Kihyun’s take. “Listen, I know you’re tired. So am I. But you can’t take it out on me.”

Kihyun scoffed.

“This was all your idea, after all. And look at where we are now, we barely have any water or food left and we’re in the middle of nowhere, looking for a place that we will never find.”

Minhyuk took a step back.

“_My_ idea?” He couldn’t believe Kihyun’s words. “Wonhee is dying. That’s why we’re here. Did you, perhaps, forget?”

“It’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about since we left Ieshos.” Kihyun rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms. “But we’re not going to make it.”

“We really won’t with that mindset.” Minhyuk retorted, seeming to offend Kiyun terribly.

“You know what?” He asked, grabbing his backpack tightly. “Fuck you.”

“You’re a brat.” Minhyuk spat back and he didn’t go after him when Kihyun started walking in a different direction, determined in finding his own way to the core to Asharia. It was either that or he’d die in the attempt.

Still fuming and mumbling words under his breath, Kihyun walked down an earthy slope that seemingly led to nowhere, but it was already far enough from Minhyuk and his stupidity. He didn’t have the strength to deal with his childish antics any longer.

A loud, surprised yelp escaped past his throat when the floor underneath his feet gave up, the unstable soil sliding and taking him with it, making him fall a few meters rolling down the slope, his backpack along with him and hitting his back roughly with each turn of his body.

When he landed at the end of the slanted ground, every muscle in his body ached and his head throbbed from the nasty fall. He could barely sit up, completely covered in soil and he checked every juncture to make sure nothing was sprained, which was the least thing he wished for in that situation.

He heard a piercing sound that came from a few meters near him, a sound that resembled an erupting volcano, but to Kihyun, who had checked out uncountable number of troubled respiratory systems, it sounded akin to a really strained breathing.

Turning his head to check where the sounds where coming from, although not without fear, Kihyun looked up to meet the enormous body of a dragon.

He opened his mouth to scream, but it died in his throat, no sounds leaving it. He blinked once, twice and thrice, to make sure what he was seeing was real and not the result of a concussion after his fall.

The dragon’s body was fully black, but it had a really healthy and beautiful glimmer all over its scales that shone under the sun light. Its eyes were red, even from the distance Kihyun could tell, and there were two languid horns on top of his head, next to its ears. The wings seemed thin but strong, enough to lift them up in the sky and fly until they reached the end of the world.

He stumbled backwards, trying not to make any more noise that could grab the dragon’s attention, but it was too late. The fall had been noisy enough and it was staring right at him, as if they could see right at his soul.

As he saw his life flashing through his eyes, ready to be devoured or burnt down to ashes by a mighty dragon in a matter of seconds, he thought of Minhyuk and how much he regretted having being an asshole to him – he had been right, Kihyun was a brat when he was exhausted and he did nothing wrong, neither he deserved the words he was told.

As if his thoughts had the power to evoke him, Minhyuk appeared next to him in the blink of an eye, ungracefully walking down the slope as he tried hard not to commit Kihyun’s mistake and eat soil.

“Are you okay?” He asked, holding Kihyun by the shoulders and shaking him. “I heard your screams. Are you hurt?!”

Kihyun would have been endeared by Minhyuk’s concern if it weren’t because he was still scared shitless about having a dragon right behind them.

Still unable to find his voice, Kihyun pointed with his head at the colossal creature that stood behind them. When Minhyuk looked, his mouth went agape.

“W-What the -” He stuttered, taking a step back just like Kihyun had done before.

The creature breathed out loud again, smoke coming out from its nose and scaring them even further, stumbling upon their feet as they tried to run away. They wanted to find Asharia, not to be eaten out by a dragon prior to that.

Before they could take to their heels, the figure of a man appeared next to the dragon, surprising them. His hair was dark and his body-shape was muscular; he didn’t look very friendly but at least it was _someone_ they could talk to.

“H-Hello.” Kihyun found his voice to speak to him. Now that they had a possible chance, he wasn’t about to screw it up.

The other man put his hand on the dragon’s body, stroking its scales like one would pet their cat. Although he didn’t reply, it seemed as if he was listening.

“We were looking for Asharia.” He went on explaining. “There’s a very important matter we need to solve there.”

“Asharia is not open to everyone.” The man finally spoke. His voice was melodious like honey, not matching the stern expression on his face. When he approached closer, Kihyun fixed his attention on the green spots that went from side to side of his face, right above his eyebrows.

He was a shaman.

“We know.” Kihyun felt reassured knowing he was a shaman, they were always close in history considering the similarity of their natures. “We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t a life or death situation.”

The shaman stopped caressing the dragon and approached them, his long purple tunic fleeting with the wind and showing his ankles. His lips were very round and Kihyun thought he’d be more handsome if it weren’t for the perpetual frown on his face, as if something near him smelled funny.

“If you wish to enter Asharia and meet the dragons and their tamer, there’s a test you need to pass in order to achieve that.”

“What type of test?” Minhyuk asked, standing close to Kihyun. He was the type to never trust anyone, not even his own shadow.

“You and I will mentally connect through my powers. After that, you will be set in a situation where there are choices that need to be made. If the dragons deem you pure at heart and with no wicked intentions, they’ll let you in.”

“Sounds plausible.” Minhyuk stretched his arms behind his back. “Alright, I’ll do it.”

Kihyun forcefully held his arm, dragging him to the side to whisper at his ear.

“Are you sure of this?” He asked, yelling at him through the whispers. “We don’t even know what this is about and -”

“We don’t have any other chances.” Minhyuk interrupted him, shaking his head. “If I fail, you can always try too. We have two opportunities and one _has_ to be valid.”

Kihyun sighed, deflating like a balloon. As usual, Minhyuk was right.

This time, though, he didn’t fight back and admitted he had a point.

“Please.” He whispered one last time. “Be safe.”

“Of course.” Minhyuk winked at him before he turned around to look at the shaman, who seemed unbothered by their lively chit-chat.

“I will take the test.” Minhyuk took a step further to prove his words. He always seemed so full of energy and strength that Kihyun envied him deeply. He had so much to learn from him.

“Alright.” The shaman nodded solemnly. “My name is Son Hyunwoo. If you’re ready, I will use my powers to enter your brain. After that, the test will begin. We both will know once it’s done.”

Minhyuk sat down on the ground right in front of Hyunwoo, their legs folded as if they were to meditate, and their hands were interlaced whilst they kept their eyes closed.

Kihyun observed in fear as Minhyuk’s body jolted when Hyunwoo entered his mind, but then he scrunched down as if his whole body had gone limp.

Not even the dragon seemed to be breathing while the test was taking place and for Kihyun time had never passed by so slow like in that moment. He wanted to kneel down next to Minhyuk, shake him back into consciousness and keep him close to his body so that shaman couldn’t put his hands close to him and hurt him.

When Minhyuk’s body squirmed again and this time he _whimpered_, Kihyun was determined on putting an end to that madness and taking Minhyuk out of whatever was going on there, but of course the shaman had settled an energy barrier that prevented him from entering the circle they had created and Kihyun’s magic couldn’t be used against a shaman’s one.

After what seemed like eons, the shaman opened his eyes out of sudden, startling Kihyun and making him jump in place. Hyunwoo let go of Minhyuk’s hands and that seemed to bring him back to life, his back straightening as he massaged his aching shoulders from the ugly position he had been left into.

His eyes were teary and his cheeks red, but other than that he seemed just fine. Kihyun let out the air he didn’t know he was holding, feeling almost dizzy.

Hyunwoo did something neither of them could have ever expected: he chuckled.

When Kihyun looked up to look at him, taken aback by the sound, the shaman was smiling at them.

“The test has been passed.” He said, bowing his head lightly. “You shall enter Asharia and voice your request to the Master of the dragons.”

If it weren’t because of Minhyuk’s strong hold of his hand, Kihyun would have fainted at those words.

The reason why Asharia was hidden and not everyone who ventured into the mountains was able to find it was because the only way to enter was through Hyunwoo’s power, who opened a portal in between the forest that led them to the dragon’s civilization.

As soon as they put a foot on it, Kihyun could feel the immense magic that emanated from every corner as they were surrounded by ancient, powerful dragons.

There was a house in the middle of nowhere; a pretty and petite house whose ceiling was made of red clay and with windows so big they occupied half its size. He guessed it was the home for both, the shaman and the Master of the dragons.

Hyunwoo knocked on the door a couple of times before he turned the doorknob, opening the house for them to enter. Despite the place and the situation, the inside felt warm and cosy, full of amulets and charms that clearly belonged to shamanism and its rituals.

“Jooheon will be here soon.” Hyunwoo said, awkwardly standing close to the doors. “You shall voice out your worries to him when he arrives, he will listen well and tell you if there’s a solution for your matter.”

“Thank you.” Kihyun nodded, his eyes on each charm around the house, as he was so curious to know how they worked and if they were similar to his own.

Minhyuk, on the other hand, sat down on the sofa that was in the middle of the living room, holding his head between his hands, obviously exhausted from the test he had to take earlier.

Kihyun would be lying if he said he wasn’t dying to know what happened there.

Concerned about the other man, he sat down next to him, swallowed down his own bashfulness when it came to feelings and held Minhyuk’s hand, playing with his fingers as he tried to calm down his heartbeats.

Had it always been like this when it came to him? He couldn’t remember, but he was sure sometime along the way, he had fallen for him.

“Hey.”

“Hey you.” Minhyuk smiled at him, his lips curving upwards even though his eyes were half-lidded.

“Doing ok?” He asked. The answer was obvious, but he wanted to hear his voice. And most importantly, he wanted to apologize, but that would need to wait until they were properly alone.

“Been better.” Shrugging, Minhyuk drew closer to his body, resting his head on his shoulder, but his hand never left Kihyun’s. “But I will be alright.”

Kihyun knew he would, because Minhyuk was just like that. However, sometimes he wished he put his positivity and cheerfulness away and leaned on Kihyun, told him all his worries and concerns and shared his deepest thoughts. He wanted to be there for him when things weren’t that okay anymore.

“Can’t be bad if I’m next to you.” He joked, preparing himself for the slap on his shoulder that never came. Instead, Minhyuk only snuggled closer, which made his heart skip a one thousand beats inside his chest.

The Master of the dragons – or Jooheon, as Hyunwoo had named him earlier, took more than an hour to arrive at the place, which had Minhyuk asleep on Kihyun’s shoulder while he whispered about witchcraft and shamanism with Hyunwoo.

He was a tall, orange-haired man that had cat-like eyes and pretty lips. He seemed to be around their age, even though Kihyun knew he was probably a few hundred years old.

“We have visitors today.” Hyunwoo was the first one to talk, getting up from the sofa and giving room for him to wake Minhyuk up. He had drooled a little over his t-shirt and the mark of his shoulder was plastered on his left cheek, which was a truly endearing sight.

“Oh?” Jooheon stared at the both of them in surprise. They probably weren’t used to have any visitors around. “What brings two warlocks to Asharia, if I may know?”

Kihyun grimaced.

“We are not warlocks.” He replied, the word tasting odd on his tongue. “For Wicca, warlocks are known as those who are oath-breakers, or those who have broken the trust with our community. Both female and male are called witches.”

Jooheon pursed his lips together.

“My most sincere apologies, I did not know. What brings two witches to Asharia, then?” His words seemed sincere as he apologized, even though Kihyun wouldn’t have corrected him otherwise anyways considering it was the key to their success.

He rubbed his palms together.

“No need to worry. It’s a pleasure to meet you, though, Master of the dragons.” He bowed his head as a greeting, to which Jooheon replied just the same. “My partner and I came here all the way from Ieshos because we got a very important request for you.”

Jooheon nodded his head to show he was listening and awaited for his petition.

“My childhood best friend – her name is Wonhee – is a shape-shifter, a wolf one.” He started, feeling his hands sweating against the fabric of his pants. “Earlier this month she got stabbed near the Town Square, and me and my partner tried to heal her wounds with our knowledge in the medicine, but it was to no avail. We found the dagger used was impregnated with Dark Magic and, hence, poisoned. The only antidote for the darkness is that one provided by the dragons, therefore our visit.”

“That’s a very plausible and valid reason.” Jooheon was nodding his head with each word, listening well to what he had to say. “However, your request is sadly not up to me.”

Kihyun frowned.

“I don’t have the power of decision over the dragons. For that, you need to meet them. If they deem your reason as right, they will give the antidote to you.”

He bit down his lower lip to prevent himself from groaning out loud. Just how many more impediments were they going to encounter?

“It’s late already and the dragons have gone to sleep – you both must be very exhausted too, I know it’s been a long and rough day.” Jooheon pointed at the door at the back of the corridor right next to the room where they were at. “You can spend the night here, if you want. Tomorrow first hour in the morning we can go meet the dragons. They’re in a better humour when I bring them their breakfast, so it might be your perfect chance.”

It was almost comical how even dragons were moody when they were hungry.

Kihyun, seeing how Minhyuk was struggling to keep his eyes open while still sitting on the couch and listening to them, agreed to the proposal. It was better to finally sleep in a proper bed again than out in the open like in the past days or inside a narrow, uncomfortable carriage.

He had to drag the almost inert body towards the spare room they had been offered, which had both Jooheon and Hyunwoo chuckling. It still felt lightly odd coming from them – they seemed dead serious upon first meeting them, but later they were approachable and understanding. Hyunwoo had been very keen on explaining everything related to his magic when they were waiting for Jooheon to arrive, to which Kihyun now had even more questions than before, but he was always delighted about learning new things.

The room was the same size of those they’ve rented during their journey at different cities; there was a wardrobe, a bedside-table and one bed next to the wall, with plain yellow sheets and a duvet.

Minhyuk fell dead on the mattress and Kihyun joined him after he went to the toilet, he had been holding his pee for almost four hours now and his bladder was near to exploding.

When he came back, he took off Minhyuk’s shoes, took off his uncomfortable pants (Kihyun really hated them) and got on the bed next to him, finding the perfect spot between his arms.

And, just like that, he fell asleep too.

He was woken up by Minhyuk stroking his cheek in feather-like touches. If it weren’t because he was a light-sleeper, he would have never noticed.

Opening his eyes, he found the other witch only a mere inch away from him, their noses brushing and breathings mixing, his tickling Kihyun’s lips.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He apologized, halting his movements, but Kihyun held his hand and rubbed his cheek against his fingers, letting him know it was all right.

“Do you feel better?”

Minhyuk nodded.

“That stupid test really took a toll on me. But now, even though I am still sleepy, my head doesn’t feel like it’s being split in half.”

Kihyun kissed the tip of his nose.

“That’s a relief.” He finally dared to ask what he had been so curious about. “What was that test even about?”

Minhyuk didn’t reply for a long while, his fingers still tracing circles over the skin of his cheeks, nose and lips.

“You know, back then, you were impossible to talk to.” He said, instead. Kihyun raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he meant with that turn of the tables. “I tried so hard. But you seemed to hate me for no other reason than me not working as a physician, and picking on you was my only option left to talk to you.”

Kihyun opened his mouth to reply but Minhyuk didn’t let him.

“I liked you a lot, even when you hated me. You’ve always been so strong, so passionate about your work, so full of determination. I looked up to you in ways I’ve never admired anyone, and I wanted to get a reaction from you so bad. I wanted you to acknowledge me, too.”

Kihyun’s heart was beating so fast that he could feel it thumping on the roof of his mouth and ringing in his ears.

“Not to mention that, on top of all of that, you’re also quite pretty. Which is, if you ask me, the whole package.” Minhyuk laughed when Kihyun playfully smacked his shoulder, shy at his words. “I’m serious! I didn’t know Wonhee at all back when the incident happened and if you think I didn’t just totally venture into this because I wanted to get closer to you, you’re wrong.”

“Did you just go to the other side of the world because you had a crush on me?”

“It wasn’t just a crush.” Minhyuk’s cheeks burned under Kihyun’s palms. “I genuinely liked you a lot. You’re everything I ever wanted to be and more.”

“I’m just a mess.” Kihyun was perplexed the unexpected confession from him, his brain still unable to process what he had just been told.

“So am I.” Minhyuk pecked his lips. “But you’re incredible. You’re an amazing doctor, an amazing witch, an amazing friend and an even more amazing cat dad – don’t give me that look, I know your cat is very much spoiled.”

Kihyun had to admit he had a point.

“I-” He took a deep breath. “I don’t even know what to say. I really was an asshole to you without a reason, wasn’t I?”

Minhyuk pressed his thumb and index together to signal that he had been just a little.

“I don’t even know why I disliked you so much, I just thought you were careless and out there to throw my hard work over the board. I was so blind.” He pouted. “If only I had paid more attention, maybe it wouldn’t have taken a whole trip where we nearly died a hundred times for me to figure out the heart I hold for you.”

“Corny.” Minhyuk punctuated each letter with a kiss over Kihyun’s face, teasing him.

“Shut up.” Kihyun pushed him apart just enough to cup his cheeks. “I’m sorry for being an asshole to you the other day – _yes_, apparently it’s all I am. You didn’t deserve to be treated the way I did just because I was tired. I don’t deserve you at all.”

“Don’t say that.” Minhyuk scolded him. “We all make mistakes. Besides, you’ve been under so much stress and pressure since we left Ieshos. You put up with a lot yet you’re still always helping out people without asking for anything in return.”

“Still, let me apologize.” Kihyun skimo-kissed him. “But don’t get too used to it.”

“I would never.” He joked before he grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss.

“You still haven’t told me what that test was about, though, you ain’t slick.” Kihyun complained into the kiss.

“Maybe later.” Minhyuk laughed. “Let me have this for now.”

“Was it about me?”

Minhyuk only hummed as he deepened the kiss.

Kihyun forgot how to breathe when he met face to face the dragons. There were at least about thirty of them, all sitting or lying down across the vast extension of land that Asharia was, fresh and pure in a way only nature could be. He shrieked when a dragon overflew them, the ear-piercing sound of their wings battling scaring him to death, sending his heart to the back of his throat.

Jooheon, who was used to those creatures as he’s raised most of them, chuckled at their antics. Even though he was taller, Minhyuk was hiding behind Kihyun’s body as if that were to protect him from being eaten by a creature that rose twenty meters in the sky.

Jooheon was carrying – with the help of Hyunwoo – four wide and round barrels that were fill to the brim with raw meat, that they apparently kept stored inside a fridge they had bought as a specific request to some wizards and that was able to keep the meat in good condition for longer than usual. Since he hated hurting and killing other creatures, this always helped Jooheon reduce the number of times he had to go hunting, but it was part of his life as the Master of dragons to often offer them treats and keep them well fed, even when most of the times they were the ones going hunting instead.

When the closest ones smelled the blood coming from the barrels, they got out of their slumber and slowly approached them, opening their jaws and showing their massive teeth as they growled, hungry since very early in the morning.

Jooheon opened one of the barrels and – with a gloved hand – he took the first piece of meat that was inside and threw it to the first dragon in sight.

Just the way Kihyun’s cat did when he offered her some home-made food, the dragons made a pleased sound as they were all given a piece of meat they could fest on without needing to do any work for it, and they started tearing apart the tissues with forceful movements of their jaws. He couldn’t help but pull an appalled grimace on his face, unpleased by the sight and smell of raw meat, blood and the smoke that came out of their nostrils.

Minhyuk even ventured to give one big slice of meat to the dragon that was closest to him, a pretty white with purple spots one that seemed reticent to just move and get the food by themselves instead. Kihyun, although with shaky hands, helped him, watching as the dragon looked at them through narrowed, big orbs and smelled the food in a quite uninterested and condescending manner.

“This one here is one of the youngest. Her name is Idhaess and she’s a female dragon currently undergoing her shady teenager phase.” Jooheon scotted closer to pet her, but she scoffed at him, turning her head to the side.

Jooheon looked oddly amused at her behaviour.

“She’s pretty.” Minhyuk kept the same safety distance between them as before, but the dragon wouldn’t stop staring at him.

Slowly, Kihyun tried to reach out his hand and get closer to her, so that perhaps she could be the one he would bond with and give them the antidote.

However, the dragon seemed to have other ideas in mind, because she exhaled smoke through her nose right at Kihyun’s direction, sending him to the floor with a loud scream. Far from helping him, Minhyuk chuckled at the ridiculous situation and Idhaess stood her head high, proud of her misdeed as she approached the witch closer, rubbing her head on his shoulder and neck.

Minhyuk’s laughter died in his throat when he felt the dragon’s strokes, his face turning into one of surprise and fear, but it disappeared as soon as he saw she didn’t mean to hurt him (at least not right then).

Grunting, Kihyun got up from the floor, shaking the dust off his pants and murmuring some not so nice words through gritted teeth. Having Minhyuk and a dragon making fun of him at the same time was just as much as a poor, innocent witch like him could take.

Obviously sulking and not amused by the outcomes at all, Kihyun tried to look for another dragon he could try to approach instead, but the rest had all gone too far after breakfast or didn’t look friendly _at all_.

With the last remaining traces of his dignity, Kihyun turned back to Minhyuk and Idhaess and sulked next to Jooheon instead.

Or so he tried, because the dragon used one of her horns to make Kihyun trip on his way to the other man and he fell to the floor, again, this time his chin hitting the grass and he had to remind himself at least a hundred times that it was physically impossible for him to square up against a dragon and win, but dreaming about it gave him a sense of self-satisfaction at least.

When he got up, the dragon made a sound that resembled a cat and tried stroked Kihyun’s face just the same way he had done with Minhyuk before, but he was so scared to be attacked again that he covered his face with his arms and she ended up on his arms instead.

It took him a couple of seconds to realize Idhaess wasn’t after his ass anymore but instead was trying to apologize for her naughty attempts to make fun of him.

He liked to believe in any other situation he would have played harder to get, but this was a dragon and they needed something from her on top of that.

Still pretending to be sulking and annoyed (which he, in fact, still was), he kept his arms crossed as Idhaess rubbed her head on his shoulder, trying to gain a reaction from him as she poked his forearm with her pointy nose.

When he tried to caress her scales this time, she didn’t budge, and instead leaned to the touch. It was strikingly soft but tough, and also so warm that it felt like nearing his hand towards a cooking hob.

Satisfied with the pets, Idhaess sat on the floor and let both Minhyuk and Kihyun be close to her, her eyes closed in comfort.

“Look at her.” Jooheon shook her head. “She sees two handsome men and goes weak.”

Hyunwoo chuckled next to him.

“You will need to bring them next time you need her to do something.”

Kihyun craned his neck to look at the man standing behind them and the dragon.

“Should we tell her the reason why we’re here?” He asked. As much as he was enjoying playing with a dragon like it was his cat, they didn’t have much time left.

“Just put your hand close to her heart.” Hyunwoo explained, signalling to Kihyun where he was talking about. “And share your thoughts with her. She will feel your distress and understand your feelings right away. If they’re considered rightful, the antidote will be given to you.”

Kihyun nodded, suddenly so nervous that his legs didn’t seem to have any strength to keep him standing still.

“Idhaess.” He called her by her name, which had the beautiful dragon opening her eyes and looking at him. “There’s something important I need to ask from you.”

With that, he put his hand close to her heart, closing his own eyes to focus as he tried to connect with her. It happened so fast that he gasped, something clicking inside his mind that felt like a path in between the two of them. With caution, Kihyun started telling their story – from the moment Wonhee got stabbed, their failed attempt to save her life, the poisoned dagger, their long and dangerous journey until Asharia to find the antidote that could save their friend.

As he explained, he felt his own magic on the tip of his fingers, as if the dragon’s energy and his were mixing and interconnecting. He was sure if he opened his eyes he would see the palm of his hands turned a bright pink as they were pressed against Idhaess’ scales.

“What’s your name, witch?”

Kihyun blinked even through his closed eyes when he heard what had to be the dragon’s voice inside his brain. She sounded too mature for what Jooheon had told them, as if instead of a teenager she was one of the oldest and wisest ones.

“Yoo Kihyun.” He replied, unsure he could be heard when he wasn’t speaking out loud.

“Yoo Kihyun, Witch of Ieshos. You’ve come a long way until here.”

He nodded silently. When he looked back, he couldn’t believe Minhyuk and him had the guts to undertake this journey and they had managed to survive and get to the end of it.

“Your bravery shall not be undermined.” Idhaess added. Although solemn, far from being scary her voice had a rather motherly tone. “I will give you and your partner, your soulmate, the antidote to save your friend’s life. Both of you are pure at heart and don’t have wicked intentions – only seeking the best for this world. Your request has been accepted.”

Kihyun felt the sudden and very strong urge to cry, even though his mind could only think how the dragon had referred to Minhyuk as his _soulmate_.

“Thank you.” He choked out. “I am forever grateful to you. If there’s something you – or Jooheon – ever need from us, I will be more than glad to be of help.”

“Take care, Kihyun.” Were the dragon’s final words before the connection between the two of them ceased and he was brought back to their real world, his legs giving in as he opened his eyes.

Minhyuk was there to catch him before he fell, once again, and he grabbed his hand to remain steady on his feet. When Kihyun looked at him, the words resounded in his mind again, loud and clear. If he had to choose someone to be his soulmate, no one could suit better for the role other than Minhyuk.

A bright, white aura surrounded Idhaess as he stood from her previous positions, her weight supported on her hind legs and the wings fully spread to the wind. The sight was so beautiful that Kihyun felt a tug at his heart, the tears back at the corner of his eyes.

Then, she did something that startled them – using one of her claws, she cut a thin line through her chest, until there was blood dripping down her body, and Mihyuk quickly rushed to take it inside the crystal bottle Hyunwoo had given them earlier. It was small, but enough to save Wonhee’s life.

When the bottle was filled to the brim, Minhyuk closed it and kept it safe to his body, while the aura disappeared from around Idhaess and she went back to being on her four legs, her chest still covered in blood.

As if he moved by pure instint, Kihyun drew closer to her wounded body, raising his hands to be at the same level of her chest. When she stared at him, obviously curious as to what he was about to do, he closed his eyes.

He’d never used his magic without a pentagram or without his charms, like the eucalypt leaves or the lavender tea bags, but he had none of those here right now and he sent a prayer to the Triple Goddess to let him, just this once, perform his magic without any of those.

Although it took longer than he usually would, the skin under his hands turned a shade of blue as he focused on repairing the tissues that had been cut with her claw, making sure to stop the bleeding and reinforce the coagulation first so that there would be no inside problems afterwards. Once her muscle and skin were back to how they were, Kihyun focused on suturing so that there would be no scar or traces left, but because the scales were rougher than the skin he had only ever stitched before, it took him more strength and abilities than he’s ever needed before.

Once finished, Kihyun felt light-headed, his feet unstable on the ground, but he was still capable enough of staring at the dragon’s chest to see the wound was sealed just fine.

As a thank you, Idhaess rubbed her face against his own, her nose tickling his chin, but Kihyun was too weak and just that sent him, once again, to the floor.

“You’re incredible beyond any possible reality.” Minhyuk whispered to his ear as he tried to help him get back to his feet. “I’ve never seen a witch perform their magic without a pentagram before, but you just did.”

“I asked the Triple Goddess for a little favour.” Kihyun explained. “Dragons are part of her creatures too, hence why she lent me use my magic like this just this once, because it was to heal one of them.”

“Don’t discredit yourself, Ki.” Minhyuk had stars in his eyes as he looked at him and Kihyun wished they were alone so that he could kiss him until they were both out of breath. “You got the antidote for Wonhee and you healed a dragon _just_ with your hands. Fuck, I am so in love with you.”

Kihyun stared at him with wide eyes.

“What?” Minhyuk blushed hard at the realisation of his own words, but now it was too late to back out. “I thought I made I clear last night with what I told you.”

“I-” Kihyun stuttered. “I mean, I guess so. But that’s just – hearing it with those words is another thing.”

“Is it a bad thing?” He asked, the worry taking control of his face as his eyebrows knit together.

Kihyun couldn’t believe he had the audacity to ask such a thing when he felt just as much.

“No, of course not.” He rushed to reply, his hand reaching out for Minhyuk’s. “It can’t be a bad thing when I lov-”

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” Jooheon cut Kihyun mid-sentence. “But there’s something important I need to tell you.”

Kihyun felt like digging a hole and burying himself in it after he was interrupted in the middle of confessing to Minhyuk, but nevertheless he still listened to what Jooheon had to say – if he deemed it as important, it had to be.

“Yes?”

“Idhaess said she wants to give you a ride to Ieshos. It won’t take more than a few hours and I don’t think you’ve got enough time to travel back to your town on foot, right?”

Kihyun scrunched his nose – Jooheon was right; they did not have enough time to go back to Ieshos just with their feet, and not even with their carriage. As scary as flying on top of a dragon at the speed of the light sounded, it was their only choice left.

“I’ve got everything you need to travel safely at home.” Hyunwoo pointed at the house, that stood in the distance, with his head. “Unless you want to fall from her back and die.”

Minhyuk sniggered, making a sound that resembled to a wounded animal just at the mere thought.

“Thought so.” Hyunwoo smiled at him before he got serious again. “I knew you were going to come here before you did. I saw it in one of my visions.”

Kihyun raised an eyebrow at him.

“The reason why your friend was stabbed relies on a really long history that involves pure line and mixed line among the shape-shifters. Those that stay between their clan, are always the same animals, and keep the characteristics through generations. However, those who decide to mate with a different shape-shifter, breed a different animal to their original clans. This has always been an issue among their people.” He explained, leaving Kihyun dumbfounded. He had no idea about that. “One of Wonhee’s brothers wanted to break away with their clan and marry one from another. However, since this did not sit well among their own, they decided to attack his family instead – hence why Wonhee got hurt. It was a warning.”

“That’s sick.” Minhyuk spoke in behalf of Kihyun, who couldn’t believe he almost lost his childhood best friend due to some inner dispute that didn’t even concern her per se.

“Thank you for telling us.” He was glad to finally know the reason behind what happened that day. He was _sure_ his friend would have never hurt anyone to deserve that.

Hyunwoo bowed his head at his words.

“Have a safe flight back to Ieshos.” He gave a hand-made necklace to each one of them, made out of wood and crystals. “May these always keep the bad spirits away from you.”

They put the necklace around each other’s neck while Hyunwoo walked back home.

While Kihyun and Minhyuk rode on Idhaess’ back, both secured by the harnesses Hyunwoo had lent them to be safe, Jooheon was on the back of the one he said he used to fly with more frequently, the both of them heading to Ieshos with their wings battling to the wind.

Even though he was scared shitless for his own life, Kihyun couldn’t keep his eyes closed the entire ride. He could only stare at the world that laid beneath them, so huge and beautiful, covered in blue and green everywhere, even towards the nearest civilizations. He recognized Eshil, Edrax and Ewal even from up in the sky, the memories dawning upon him so fast and making him feel some type of nostalgic – he’d love to visit the cities again with Minhyuk, but this time only out of leisure and not because one of their friends were in danger.

When they landed, although with wobbly legs, Kihyun didn’t waste any more time and rushed towards his house, knocking on the door as if he was going to tear it down.

A very much surprised Changkyun opened it, and he was even more surprised when he saw who was standing at his own door, sweaty, with his hair considerably longer and a pretty and unflattering stubble, but with a wide smile on his face.

“We have the antidote.” He spurted, rushing towards the inside and followed right after by Minhyuk while Jooheon stayed outside looking out for the dragons. Not that they couldn’t defend themselves, but there was no need to cause a ruckus among the citizens.

Kihyun gasped when he saw the state Wonhee was at – if he didn’t know better and could see the almost unnoticeable rise and fall of her chest, he would have thought she was dead. Despite feverish, she was as cold as winter and so pale that she could have been as well a snowflake.

Minhyuk handed him the crystal-clear glass that he had kept secured against his chest the whole trip and that contained their salvation. Thanks to Idhaess’ blood, they could save his friend’s life.

Opening Wonhee’s mouth with his right hand and using his fingers to separate her lips, he poured the liquid inside with the other, tilting her chin so that it would go down her throat even when she couldn’t swallow.

As soon as the bottle was emptied inside her body, the colour started coming back to her skin and her closed eyelids trembled a few times before she slowly opened them, trying to adjust to the light and focus her blurry vision on what was happening in front of her.

“Kihyun?” She asked upon seeing him first, voice hoarse and throaty after not talking for almost a month.

Hearing his name on his friend’s mouth had never made Kihyun so happy before and, swallowing down the tears, he hugged her.

“I missed you so much, Wonnie.” He said, head against her chest. She seemed surprised at that, but still patted his head softly.

From the other side of the room, muffled sobs could be heard and Kihyun looked up to see Changkyun was crying into the sleeve of his shirt upon seeing his beloved being alive and well.

“What happened? What did I miss?” She asked, still confused at their reactions and even more when she saw the way Changkyun was crying and hugging her.

“There’s so much you need to catch up to.” Minhyuk joked, but he was tear-eyed too.

“But first,” Kihyun pointed at the open door. “We should go back to Jooheon so that we can thank him once again.”

The dragons and Jooheon were exactly at the same place where they had left them upon arriving at Ieshos, but the man was sitting on the floor, head resting on his dragon’s body.

“She’s alive.” Was the first thing Kihyun said when he noticed them. “As soon as she drank Idhaess’ blood, she came back to life. I am forever thankful to all of you for giving me my friend back.”

Jooheon smiled sweetly at them. He could be just as fierce and rough as the dragons were, but on the inside he was just a sweet and caring man.

“That’s a relief.” He patted his dragon’s chest, telling him it was time for him to stand up as they would travel back to Asharia soon.

Kihyun turned to look at Idhaess, who playfully stroked his and Minhyuk’s cheek again with her nose.

“Until we meet again.” He said, caressing her head back, and she nodded, understanding his words.

“Have a safe flight back to Asharia, Jooheon.” Minhyuk bowed his head at him. “Ieshos will always welcome you and your dragons.”

“Asharia too.” Jooheon responded before he got on top of his dragon and, as soon as he spread his wings into the air, they flew into the sky, followed by Idhaess.

Kihyun felt a funny sense of loss inside his chest as he stared at the sky, but was quickly forgotten when Minhyuk grabbed his hand, drawing his attention to him.

“I was thinking, _Dr. Yoo_, that maybe after everything has settled down again, we could go on a date.” He proposed, shyly playing with his fingers but never looking away from him.

He felt his lips curving into a smile on their own.

“That sounds lovely, _Mr. Lee_.” Kihyun answered, the words burning on the tip of his tongue. “Because, I love you too.”

Kihyun was sure, after all they went through, that Minhyuk was the light of his life when he smiled back at him as bright as the sun before he drew closer and kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading this story! i had a lot of fun writing it and i enjoyed it thoroughly and i hope you did too! comments are very much appreciated ❤️❤️❤️


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